Dear Chairman Bose and Council, thank you for permitting me to speak to you today.

My name is Judy Stone. I am the president of Animal Advocates Society of BC. I live in West Vancouver.

Animal Advocates Society is opposed to the use of animals for entertainment. There is no such thing as cruelty-free animal entertainment, and no branch of the business displays its cruelty more clearly and blatantly than rodeo does. One day rodeo will be looked back on with horror and disgust. That day cannot come too soon. It will not be a credit to those who supported it, but you all have the chance to do the ethical and the humane thing and end the Cloverdale Rodeo.

Surrey currently has an “Exotic Animals in Performance” bylaw that is seriously flawed
because it only covers “exotic” animals that are on a limited list and which does nothing to prevent domesticated animals from being exploited in malls, in parking lot fairs, and in bar shows etc. Domesticated animals can be exploited with impunity where a municipality has adopted the "exotic animals" bylaw.

The best “Animals in Performance” bylaw is the District of North Vancouver’s. The DNV bylaw simply says NO animals in performance, with the exception of certain types of performances (not certain types of animals). The allowed performances are the ones that society as a whole has not yet come to believe are exploitive: dog and cat breeder shows and agriculture shows which permits the District's own well-run and humane Maplewood Farms.
The DNV bylaw is elegantly simple and yet comprehensive. Surrey’s “Exotic Animals in Performance” is confusing, complicated and incomplete.

We urge you to consider substituting the District of North Vancouver’s bylaw which we have attached. We urge you not to exempt pony rides, petting zoos, dog races, and several other uses of animals to amuse, including rodeo.
And finally, municipalities must deal with the selling and keeping of exotic animals too. It should not be legal to own tigers, lynx, monkeys, snakes, etc. Some are dangerous, some carry disease, and all suffer from confinement and ignorance of their needs.

Again, thank you for listening to our views today.