Animal Welfare

Everyone benefits when the well-being of animals is respected by farms, kennels, catteries and pet owners. Ethically sound treatment of animals is a priority of citizens and society as a whole. It's also a good business practice and an essential part of modern agriculture.

The Manitoba government works with stakeholders to ensure the province has appropriate animal welfare laws that are clearly understood and followed. These services are delivered through the Animal Welfare Program by providing Animal Protection.

In this section you can find out how to report a concern about animal treatment. You can also link to resources providing industry best practices and the perspectives of concerned stakeholder groups.

The Animal Welfare section of the Animal Health and Welfare branch, under the leadership of the Provincial Veterinarian - Animal Welfare (PV-AW), is responsible for enforcing The Animal Care Act, Manitoba's animal welfare legislation. The Animal Care Act’s objective is to protect the welfare of domesticated and owned animals in Manitoba, and enforce compliance of an acceptable standard for their care. These standards of care apply to: 

• providing animals with adequate food, water, shelter, exercise and medical attention
• keeping animals in areas that are uncrowded, sanitary, have adequate lighting, and are well ventilated
• avoiding infliction of emotional or physical suffering, injury, harm, anxiety or distress

The Animal Care Act's scope does not include wildlife.

We invite you to watch this video to learn more about the Animal Welfare Program in Manitoba:

Education

What is New?

Animal Welfare Dashboards
Trends or summary statistics from animal welfare investigations conducted since 2016 including outcomes of cases, species inspected, number of appeals, and the top violations under The Animal Care Act are now available on the Animal Welfare Dashboards.

Kennel Training Certificate Program
The Kennel Training Certificate Program is a course developed by the Manitoba government. This course aims to build public trust and to improve accountability and credibility of the sector. Completion of the course material and quiz is voluntary for all kennel owners and employees.

Manitoba Veterinarian's Animal Welfare Handbook
Manitoba Veterinarian's Animal Welfare Handbook provides veterinarians guidance when dealing with animal welfare cases. This guidance includes how to report animal welfare concerns appropriately, how to discuss welfare concerns with clients and how to fulfill their leadership roles as animal welfare advocates.

Contact

For more information, please contact the Animal Care Line, or call 204-945-8000 (in Winnipeg); 1-888-945-8001 (toll free).