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About Raccoon Freedom Fighters
We Believe
- that all creatures deserve compassion, decency, & dignity in all of our interactions with them.
- that all human beings have a duty of care.
- that participating in any intentional or preventable animal suffering is inexcusable.
- that there should be transparency & accountability from our governing bodies.
- that a well-informed public is crucial for the health of our democracy.
Our Mission
- To expose all forms of animal cruelty at the hands of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNRF) in order to demonstrate the absurdity of putting an agency that supports hunting, trapping, penned dog hunting, and unnecessary animal research in charge of the compassionate people who have dedicated their lives to saving these same animals.
- To create public awareness about the decades of over-handed authoritarian style leadership that has led to countless acts of abuse ... abuse of power, abuse of animals, and abuse of tax payers dollars.
- To fight for change in policy and governance of Ontario's Wildlife Custodians to create a more collaborative and supportive environment, free of intimidation, so that they may more affectively rescue, rehabilitate, and release the wildlife we entrust them with.
Our Approach
WE GOTTA MAKE SOME NOISE, PEOPLE!!!
- Fostering a wide spread social media campaign of awareness and passive disruption on key sites/platforms.
- Maintaining relevancy to key politicians through phone call, email, and social media campaigns.
- Co-hosting large Protests & Demonstrations at key locations such as Queens Park, MNRF offices, MPP Constituency offices, & Animal/Wildlife Research Labs.
- Supporting our community in hosting micro-protests at key locations and other high-traffic exposure areas.
- Compiling relevant information on prior MNRF mismanagement, intimidation & abuse from a variety of sources such as news media, interviews, etc.
- Shining a light on all of the recent legislative changes that have created imbalances to such a grotesque scale.
HOW RACCOON FREEDOM FIGHTERS BEGAN
On September 26, 2023, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNRF) inhumanely & violently seized 87 innocent raccoons from Mally's Third Chance Raccoon Rescue & Rehabilitation Sanctuary (Mally's), in what can only be described as a grotesque display of force in a military-style raid intended to intimidate and terrorize the custodians on site as well as those across the Province. How else could you describe having approximately 50 armed officers & research technicians descend upon a family home and rescue facility with no less than 25 vehicles, multiple drones, a K9 Unit, and the aerial support of a plane or helicopter?? All of this for a facility that typically has no more than 4-5 staff and volunteers on site?!
Witnesses describe the brutal force and nature used by the Conservation Officers and Wildlife Research Technicians as causing many of the raccoons to be injured while being forced in to live-traps far too small for their adult bodies. The raccoons sat in these confined restrictive spaces, with their bodies pushing through the small wire mesh openings for up to 8 hours ... without water, without food, and without the medication that some of them desperately needed while they convalesced from treatment and surgery. It is believed that a few may have even suffocated before they were transported off of the property. All of the traps were then haphazardly piled in to the backs of open pickup truck beds, being loaded upright on the small ends to fit more in each truck.
Several of the Technicians were seen purposely hurting the raccoons and taking sadistic pleasure in it. Witnesses could easily hear the Wildlife Research Technicians snickering and laughing while the terrified raccoons were screaming out in pain and fear each time the Technicians forcefully stabbed at them with the blunt end of their snare poles. Sadly, the woman in charge of this Department seemed to be laughing the loudest. One Technician, upon nearly being bitten, was overheard saying, "Don't worry - You'll get yours!"
One Officer, upon nearly being bitten, was overheard saying, "Don't worry - You'll get yours!"
In mid-November, the Mally's Board of Directors took to court to get an injunction to prevent the MNRF from killing the raccoons or using them in any of their research. They also requested that an independent veterinarian be allowed to inspect the raccoons to ensure they were healthy and properly cared for. On December 4, 2023, a Superior Court Judge ruled that the MNRF had successfully demonstrated that the raccoons were safe in MNRF care. And yet, just 11 days later, the MNRF killed the last 40+ raccoons who were double-vaccinated and were set to be released back to the wild just days from the raid. were slated to be released back to the wild just 2 days after the raid. Wonder how that judge feels about that decision now?
The MNRF are attempting to justify their actions by claiming that all 87 raccoons tested positive for distemper, and that they euthanized them “consistent with Ministry policy”.
Certainly, some of the raccoons would legitimately have had distemper … they were brought in because someone found a sick raccoon, right? But these 15+ raccoons were either waiting for euthanasia scheduled for that very morning, or were still in quarantine awaiting clearance or diagnosis. These would have been the raccoons that were in the first group the MNRF killed.
So, how did the 40+ healthy raccoons who had been double-vaccinated against distemper, and had been living for many weeks in their pre-release enclosures outside, far away from the facility, and were slated to be released within just a few days, end up testing positive for distemper?
Did the antibodies from the vaccines show up as a fake-positive test? Could they have contracted a minute amount of the virus due to how the MNRF ignored all bio-security protocol by putting these healthy raccoons next to the raccoons that were still in quarantine and those that were going to be euthanized that day? Or, how the MNRF tracked the feces and urine from the infected raccoons throughout the building and property, ignoring the bleach foot trays and not switching out clothing or gloves? Rehabbers know that you move through a facility from healthiest animals to sickest to prevent the spread of disease. Not the MNRF - they started with the absolute sickest and moved on from there.
It is NOT AT ALL feasible that those pre-release raccoons had distemper before the MNRF raid. Due to the incubation period for distemper, the physical symptoms would have been present. And, if the MNRF is going to insist on claiming that they did have distemper, then they should have to provide quantifiable scientific evidence such as antibody titres and serological type (specific strain) for each animal.
So, it may seem believable that all raccoons tested positive for distemper, but it is scientifically highly unlikely. And, the crucial piece missing from the far-fetched stories the MNRF is claiming, is how would the raccoons have caught it. Well, anyone who has learned about the epidemiology and pathology of distemper knows that if it happened, it could only have happened thanks to the misconduct of the MNRF that day!
Some important questions we need answers to:
What was the viral load of the vaccinated raccoons? Were they showing any symptoms? Or was this based solely on their antibody levels which are explained by their vaccinations? Is the MNRF purporting that vaccines don’t work? Well if that’s the case, they’ll have a hard time justifying the millions of dollars they put in to their rabies vaccination program every year. There are some people who believe the MNRF may have even infected the raccoons on purpose as part of some research. And before you go saying “now that’s just taking it too far”, the MNRF have admitted to performing rabies research on all the raccoons they seized from an Ottawa area rescue facility in the past … sooo ????
The legal team for Mally’s, and all of us concerned supporters will continue to demand answers for these abuses and injustices. The MNRF has grossly misconducted themselves, and they must be held accountable. It is the only way to ensure they don’t continue their well-known history of abusive behaviour against wildlife rehabbers and the animals they care for. As tax-payers and wildlife rescue supporters, we deserve answers and there must be consequences.
*PLEASE SEE THE "UPDATE AS OF NOV 20, 2023" ON "THE FACTS" PAGE TO READ OF THE ATTROCCITIES THAT TOOK PLACE BETWEEN THE INHUMANE SEIZURE AND ULTIMATE MURDER OF ALL OF THE RACOONS.
Help us put an end to
ABUSE OF POWER!
ABUSE OF ANIMALS!
ABUSE OF TAX-PAYERS MONEY!
- remind our government that they work for us -