Explore Humane Canada’s Summit for Animals 2026 PROGRAMMING

Tour D

• 9:30 am -  Arrival at the BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter
• 9:45–10:45 am - Tour
• 11:00 am - Shuttle departs (for those purchasing the shuttle option)

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter and Hospital with this free one-hour tour—offered before the 2026 Humane Canada Conference.

Attendees can choose to:

• Join the free shelter tour only (make your own way to/from the shelter), or
• Add discounted shuttle transportation to Fairmont Chateau Whistler (available for an added fee)

🚐 Shuttle includes luggage transport and a comfortable group ride directly to the conference hotel.

Space is very limited and spots fill up quickly—secure your spot early.

Tour E

• 11:00 am -  Arrival at the BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter
• 11:15–12:15 pm - Tour
• 12:30 pm - Shuttle departs (for those purchasing the shuttle option)

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter and Hospital with this free one-hour tour—offered before the 2026 Humane Canada Conference.

Attendees can choose to:

• Join the free shelter tour only (make your own way to/from the shelter), or
• Add discounted shuttle transportation to Fairmont Chateau Whistler (available for an added fee)

🚐 Shuttle includes luggage transport and a comfortable group ride directly to the conference hotel.

Space is very limited and spots fill up quickly—secure your spot early.

Tour F

• 12:30 pm -  Arrival at the BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter
• 12:45 - 1:45 pm - Tour
• 2:00 pm - Shuttle departs (for those purchasing the shuttle option)

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter and Hospital with this free one-hour tour—offered before the 2026 Humane Canada Conference.

Attendees can choose to:

• Join the free shelter tour only (make your own way to/from the shelter), or
• Add discounted shuttle transportation to Fairmont Chateau Whistler (available for an added fee)

🚐 Shuttle includes luggage transport and a comfortable group ride directly to the conference hotel.

Space is very limited and spots fill up quickly—secure your spot early.

YAPPY HOUR - RELAX, CONNECT AND KICK OFF THE SUMMIT

Sponsored by Veterinov

Join fellow attendees for a casual and welcoming networking social at the stunning Woodlands Terrace at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. This heated outdoor space offers beautiful mountain views and the perfect atmosphere to ease into the Summit.

Yappy Hour is a relaxed opportunity to meet new people, reconnect with familiar faces, and start the Summit for Animals 2026 with great conversations in a beautiful setting.

We can’t wait to see you there! 

Complimentary for all attendees. No advance sign up required.

Take some time to enjoy your lunch, recharge and refuel before diving into the exciting second half of the Pre-conference Deep Dives, sponsored by Edmonton Humane Society. Lunch on April 19 is only available to Pre-conference Deep Dives attendees.

Tired of guessing your way through fundraising? Whether you're a one-person show or part of a larger team, this hands-on workshop is your one-stop shop for building smart, inspiring fundraising campaigns that actually work. 
 
In this practical, interactive session, we'll guide you step-by-step through creating a campaign that not only catches your donors’ attention but keeps them coming back. From year-end appeals to monthly giving and emergency drives, you’ll learn how to design campaigns with a compelling brand, a clear message, and a strategy rooted in sustainability. 
 
You’ll walk away with: 

• A customizable campaign framework/strategy document that outlines the who, what, when, and how of a fundraising campaign, including campaign goals beyond revenue 
• A segmentation plan template to determine who to target the campaign to 
• Ideas for copywriting and design for the campaign elements 
• A donor journey map tailored to your audience 
• Strategies to build lasting community, not just one-time gifts 

We’ll share real-life case studies and examples from nonprofits of all sizes, offering ideas and solutions you can start using right away. 
 
Build your next campaign with clarity, creativity, and confidence—no guesswork required.     

Key Learnings 

• Understand the interdependencies between audience selection, messaging, design, and channel choice, and how these elements must work together to create a compelling and effective appeal. 
• Actionable insights for every phase, from the initial planning (campaign strategy) and audience segmentation to crafting persuasive copy, designing impactful visuals, setting and tracking campaign goals/KPIs, and campaign timelines. Attendees will leave with a campaign strategy document template that they can use for different types of appeals, including year-end, monthly, and emergency drives. 
• Learn how to build campaigns that not only achieve fundraising goals but also cultivate long-term donor relationships and trust by focusing on the donor’s journey and their role in the mission. 

Take some time to enjoy your lunch, recharge and refuel before diving into the exciting second half of the Pre-conference Deep Dives, sponsored by Edmonton Humane Society. Lunch on April 19 is only available to Pre-conference Deep Dives attendees.

At the Edmonton Humane Society (EHS), we know we’re more than an animal shelter; we’re a community resource. Our programs extend beyond caring for animals to supporting the people who love them.  
 
In this session, we’ll explore how strategic communications and fund development work together to expand our impact, inspire donor confidence, and build lasting connections.  
 
Discover how aligning storytelling, community engagement, and fundraising can lead to real, measurable change for both people and pets. 
 
Attendees will gain practical insights from real-life EHS scenarios, including lottery campaigns, direct mailers, community event initiatives and other outreach efforts—highlighting both successes and lessons learned along the way. 

Key Learnings 

• Understand the unique roles of Fund Development and Communications, and how their collaboration can amplify impact and drive meaningful results. 
• Learn strategies for integrating communications and fundraising plans to create cohesive, goal-driven campaigns. 
• Learn strategies for integrating communications and fundraising plans to create cohesive, goal-driven campaigns. 

When fundraising for Toronto’s first pet-friendly women’s shelter, one thing became clear: animal welfare was often the entry point that encouraged donors to give. Many were more willing to help a pet escape violence than to support a survivor, particularly if her story included poverty, substance use, racialized identity, or other realities that did not fit the “deserving victim” image. 
 
For animal welfare professionals, this dynamic offers both potential and risk. Pets can be a powerful bridge to donor empathy but relying on them as the safer focus can reinforce respectability politics and push the human experiences at the center of the work into the background. 
 
This session examines how these patterns appear in fundraising and marketing communications. It will look at how animal welfare campaigns can unintentionally uphold white feminist narratives that center innocence and erase complexity, and how organizations can build donor relationships that recognize the full, interconnected realities of animals and their people. 

Key Learnings 

• Understand why donors often see animal welfare stories as less controversial and more fundable than stories about the people connected to those animals. 
• Learn ways to share complex human experiences alongside animal stories while maintaining donor trust and engagement. 
• Develop messaging approaches that honour both animals and the people who care for them, avoiding narratives that use one to overshadow or erase the other. 

A panel of three humane focus group partners from Humane Canada’s Promising Practices Project will discuss the successes and challenges of engaging male adults as allies, utilizing the Promising Practices Framework to guide their programming.  

This panel will discuss the importance of engaging male allies in ending violence, as well as how utilizing a humane education framework impacted the men in their programs. The panellists will offer brief descriptions of their programs and share their insights into how to use humane education in a variety of contexts and types of programs. 

Key Learnings 

• Understand the importance of engaging male allies in ending violence and strategies of engaging male voices. 
• Identify how humane education can be utilized in a variety of contexts and the innovative ways humane education can be used to engage diverse audiences. 
• Learn how to successfully utilize the Promising Practices Framework as well as how to address concerns and challenges that may arise. 

What happens when students are empowered to lead with compassion? Join Gema Chavez, Vice Principal and Grade 3 teacher at Queen of All Saints school in Coquitlam, British Columbia, together with Allison Simpson, School Program Specialist at the BC SPCA, as they share their inspiring four-year journey of building a BC SPCA Club, a student-led initiative transforming learning, community, and youth advocacy. 
 
This interactive session will highlight how a small group of dedicated students, teachers, and community members created a meaningful and lasting impact through humane education. 

Participants will explore the growth of the club, from its early beginnings to its educational initiatives, and view inspiring video interviews with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and BC SPCA staff to hear firsthand how student-led service and advocacy can strengthen school communities, transform learning environments, and inspire the next generation of compassionate leaders. 
 
To close, engage in a Q&A session with Gema and Allison, and leave equipped with a handout and video to start you on your own club journey. 

Key Learnings 

• Learn practical steps to establish and sustain a school-based humane education club. Attendees will leave prepared to cultivate compassion, responsibility, and advocacy in their own humane education work. 
• Learn strategies for building strong school and community partnerships founded on principles of EDRI. Attendees will be inspired to create a culture of ethical relationships and intergenerational knowledge that extends beyond the club, having a lasting impact on animals, people, and nature. 
• Learn techniques for fostering long-term awareness, empathy, and ethical action among young people. This session highlights how empowering students and uplifting their voices promotes personal agency, community engagement, and life-long compassionate animal advocacy. 

Take some time to enjoy your lunch, recharge and refuel before diving into the exciting second half of the Pre-conference Deep Dives, sponsored by Edmonton Humane Society. Lunch on April 19 is only available to Pre-conference Deep Dives attendees.

Take some time to enjoy your lunch, recharge and refuel before diving into the exciting second half of the Pre-conference Deep Dives, sponsored by Edmonton Humane Society. Lunch on April 19 is only available to Pre-conference Deep Dives attendees.

Animal welfare organizations face unique psychological challenges due to the emotionally intense and often traumatic nature of their work. This session examines the intersection of animal welfare and human services, highlighting the mental health risks faced by shelter operations staff, animal protection officers, and rescue services. 
 
Using the Calgary Humane Society as a case study, we’ll examine how a strategic, organization-wide wellness initiative was developed to support psychological safety across diverse roles. Participants will learn about the 13 Psychosocial Factors and their relevance in high-risk environments, including those with elevated exposure to trauma, compassion fatigue, and external threats. 
 
This session will provide practical tools for assessing and improving workplace psychological health, with tailored strategies for both frontline staff and leadership. Attendees will leave equipped to foster resilience, retention, and well-being in their own organizations, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach is not enough in the complex world of animal welfare. 

Key Learnings 

• Gain a comprehensive understanding of the 13 psychosocial factors that influence psychological health and safety in the workplace, exploring how each can contribute to either a supportive or harmful work environment. We will also provide practical guidance on implementing a psychological health and safety management system to foster a healthier, safer, and more resilient organizational culture. 
• Learn how Calgary Humane Society developed a robust wellness strategy, rooted in organizational commitment and strategic planning, to support resilience, retention, and well-being across all roles. Attendees will leave the session understanding their relevance in high-risk sectors, and walk away with practical tools to assess, evaluate, and integrate psychological health and safety practices, whether as employees or employers. 
• Professionals in animal welfare, especially in enforcement roles, face elevated suicide risk due to trauma and safety threats. The Calgary Humane Society’s Animal Protection and Investigations team demonstrates how targeted wellness strategies and strong organizational support can build resilience and maintain mental health in this demanding field. 

More speakers coming soon.

Take some time to enjoy your lunch, recharge and refuel before diving into the exciting second half of the Pre-conference Deep Dives, sponsored by Edmonton Humane Society. Lunch on April 19 is only available to Pre-conference Deep Dives attendees.

In animal well-being and advocacy, our commitment to people, pets, and causes runs deep. But sustaining that commitment requires more than passion—it requires a way to stay grounded, honest, and aligned. This session offers a compassionate framework for accountability, reframing it not as blame or burden, but as the practice that allows us to keep showing up with authenticity and intention.

We’ll move through three essential steps: Self-Awareness, which clarifies what we want, why it matters, and how we experience the world; Self-Compassion, which helps us face truth without shame, blame, or judgment and opens the door to humility; and Self-Accountability, which builds trust and strengthens our ability to navigate challenges with others.

By linking awareness and compassion to accountability, we create the foundation for resilient service. This mindful approach helps us face conflict, stress, and setbacks without losing ourselves. Participants will leave with practical tools and steps for cultivating accountability as a compassionate practice—supporting their ability to serve with clarity, courage, and compassion.

Key Learnings

1. Understanding how self-compassion practices unlock greater accountability
2. Applying accountability as a tool to strengthen trust and relationships with others
3. Identifying ways to align self-awareness, compassion, and accountability to show up with authenticity and resilience

Take some time to enjoy your lunch, recharge and refuel before diving into the exciting second half of the Pre-conference Deep Dives, sponsored by Edmonton Humane Society. Lunch on April 19 is only available to Pre-conference Deep Dives attendees.

The results of an ASPCA research grant funded study of a novel low-cost fracture repair method will be presented. Fractures in pets are common, often requiring expensive surgeries. Often this leads to sub-optimal treatment, shelter relinquishment, or economic euthanasia.  
 
Paraosseous clamp cerclage stabilization (PCCS) is an inexpensive surgery method, originated in 2001, using generic, affordable pins and minimal instrumentation. While virtually unknown in North American veterinary practice, PCCS has become a favored technique for companion animal fracture repair in the developing world where resources are always scarce.  
 
The Idaho Humane Society was awarded an ASPCA research grant in 2025 to conduct a prospective study of a modification of the PCCS technique in dogs and cats with tibia and femur fractures. Complication rates were comparable to conventional, more expensive fracture repair methods. In addition to follow-up clinical examinations, radiographs of all cases were submitted for assessment of fracture healing by a boarded veterinary radiologist. The results of the study show that PCCS is an effective and affordable surgical fracture repair method for many commonly encountered long bone fractures in dogs and cats.  
 

Key Learnings 

• A brief review of fracture biology and healing will be presented. 
• Participants will be provided the evidence for PCCS as an affordable fracture repair method based on the presenter's study, case examples, and review of existing literature. 
• Attendees will learn the basic application methods and will be able to apply this method in their own practices. 

Optional. Details coming soon

Kick off the Summit for Animals with our opening session. Hear a warm welcome from leadership, set the tone for the days ahead, and celebrate some of the achievements and contributions within the animal welfare community.

Over the past three decades, animal welfare has undergone profound change—from a largely animal intake and enforcement-centric model to a more collaborative, guardian-supportive approach with an increased emphasis on prevention and addressing the root causes of animal suffering. This evolution reflects several systemic shifts, including a greater recognition of the human-animal bond; heightened public awareness of the work in the field; an increasing reliance on a science-based approach to animal welfare; and the growing realization that the animal shelter is simply a microcosm of what is occurring daily in the community. 

This session will reflect on the successes and challenges that have shaped animal welfare over the past three decades, while confronting the realities that continue to hinder progress in the sector. It will explore the urgent need for deeper collaboration across organizations and disciplines, and examine the persistent tension of working in a field where demand consistently outpaces available resources. The changing role of government in the animal care field will also be discussed, to equip our sector to position itself to thrive in the future. 

Participants will gain insight into the opportunities that arise from these challenges and consider what it will take to build a more resilient, innovative, and sustainable future for animal welfare. 

Visit the Discovery Hub to connect with organizations and companies that support the animal welfare community. Our exhibitors are ready to share their latest products, services, and innovations, giving you insights and ideas to strengthen your work.

Stop by to explore, make connections, and discover new resources. Many exhibitors also have giveaways and special offerings, so don’t miss out!

Sponsored by the Calgary Humane Society

Take a moment to pause and recharge in the Happy Walrus Recharge Room. This quiet space provides a calm environment with fidget toys, tables, and comfortable spots to relax, reflect, or recharge your energy between sessions.

In many Northern and remote Indigenous communities, the relationship between people and their dogs is deeply ingrained in daily life, culture, and history. These are not just stories about animals — they are stories about family, responsibility, tradition, and survival in the face of unique challenges.  

Rather than speaking on behalf of these communities, this session invites you to hear directly from Indigenous voices who live the reality of dog overpopulation and care in the North. Through personal storytelling, they will share the bonds they have with their pets, the struggles of limited access to veterinary care, and the innovative, community-led solutions they are building.  

This is not a lecture — it is a circle of listening. By bringing together northern perspectives and southern audiences, our presenters hope to foster understanding, respect, and collaboration in addressing dog overpopulation in a way that honours both the animals and the people who care for them. 

Key Learnings 

• Learn the realities of dog overpopulation in First Nations and how only communities can lead the solutions. 
• How to approach Indigenous relationships and collaborations. 
• How colonization has impacted rez dogs, their families and the health of communities. 

This session will describe farm animal welfare governance in Canada, and present two recent research projects completed by the University of British Columbia's Animal Welfare Program.

The first project explores the concept of ‘legitimacy’ and uses this concept to examine public-facing documents about the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) Codes of Practice.

The second project explores western Canadian dairy farmer acceptance of the NFACC Codes, in particular their views about a new requirement to socially house dairy calves.

Attendees will have opportunities to ask questions and engage in interactive activities.

Key Learnings

• Broad overview of how farm animal welfare is governed in Canada
• Define the concept of legitimacy, and identify different perspectives on legitimacy
• Case study: Recognize public and farmer perspective on dairy cattle welfare governance through the National Farm Animal Care Council’s Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle

More speakers coming soon.

Infectious disease outbreaks in animal shelters require rapid, efficient decision-making, and negative outcomes can have devastating consequences for both the shelter and the community. This interactive workshop gives participants the opportunity to navigate outbreak cases with guidance from shelter medicine specialists.

Working in small groups, attendees will manage two to three mock outbreak scenarios, while receiving incremental updates such as new cases, lab results, and evolving circumstances. Scenarios are modeled after commonly encountered shelter diseases and will simulate the complexity of real-world conditions.

Throughout the session, facilitators will deliver short presentations on important topics including disease recognition, diagnostics, treatment, risk assessment, population management, biosecurity, and sanitation. Guided by a spectrum-of-care approach, participants will learn to distinguish “essential” and “non-essential” interventions, and balance best practices with common shelter resource limitations. This session will allow participants to apply these general concepts to their own shelter settings, to allow for more confident decision-making during an outbreak scenario.

Key Learnings

• Perform key steps of outbreak investigation and management, including risk assessment and planning for population management, biosecurity, and sanitation.
• Respond to new information during an outbreak, including making decisions about public communication and how to wrap up an outbreak response.
• Incorporate consideration of resource limitations and what steps are “essential” and “non-essential” during an outbreak based on organizational factors.

Infectious disease outbreaks in animal shelters require rapid, efficient decision-making, and negative outcomes can have devastating consequences for both the shelter and the community. This interactive workshop gives participants the opportunity to navigate outbreak cases with guidance from shelter medicine specialists.

Working in small groups, attendees will manage two to three mock outbreak scenarios, while receiving incremental updates such as new cases, lab results, and evolving circumstances. Scenarios are modeled after commonly encountered shelter diseases and will simulate the complexity of real-world conditions.

Throughout the session, facilitators will deliver short presentations on important topics including disease recognition, diagnostics, treatment, risk assessment, population management, biosecurity, and sanitation. Guided by a spectrum-of-care approach, participants will learn to distinguish “essential” and “non-essential” interventions, and balance best practices with common shelter resource limitations. This session will allow participants to apply these general concepts to their own shelter settings, to allow for more confident decision-making during an outbreak scenario.

Key Learnings

• Perform key steps of outbreak investigation and management, including risk assessment and planning for population management, biosecurity, and sanitation.
• Respond to new information during an outbreak, including making decisions about public communication and how to wrap up an outbreak response.
• Incorporate consideration of resource limitations and what steps are “essential” and “non-essential” during an outbreak based on organizational factors.

Enjoy a delicious lunch while taking a well-deserved break from the sessions. This is also a great time to connect with fellow attendees and visit the Discovery Hub to explore exhibitors, resources, and innovations in the animal welfare community.

This presentation examines how realistic children's literature catalyzes tangible animal welfare outcomes beyond the classroom. Drawing on years of experience from The Gryphon Press and Lakes Animal Friendship Society, we will explore:

Shelter Integration: How humane education picture books function as foundational tools supporting spay/neuter initiatives, anti-cruelty programs, and wildlife conservation efforts within animal welfare organizations.
Campaign Applications: Examples of how Animal Advocacy organizations use humane literature to amplify messaging.

Educational and Community Activation: How humane literature serves as a springboard for student-led projects and community actions, such as students building dog houses, creating warming blankets, and establishing community cat care programs.
Cross-cultural effectiveness: How translations of titles into Chinese, Spanish, and Indigenous dialects of British Columbia have helped to establish foundational animal welfare programs in other countries and communities.

Key Learnings

• Participants will discover how story-driven humane education motivates children and communities to take concrete actions for animals, from building dog houses to direct animal welfare interventions.
• Participants will discover practical frameworks for integrating humane education literature into diverse settings—from shelter programs and educational curricula to national advocacy campaigns and professional development training—with documented methods for maximizing impact.
• Participants will see evidence of how humane education literature successfully translates across languages and cultures, creating foundation-sponsored programs and community initiatives worldwide.

Volunteers bring energy, skills, and passion that can take an organization’s work to the next level. But great volunteer programs don’t just happen; they thrive when staff know how to work alongside volunteers in a way that’s respectful, clear, and supportive. 

The presentation will examine why training staff to work with volunteers is crucial and how it can significantly impact keeping volunteers happy and engaged. Our speakers will discuss the value volunteers bring, some of the common bumps in the road when staff and volunteers aren’t on the same page, and how training can prevent misunderstandings, improve communication, and build stronger teams. 

Key Learnings 

• Positive Staff-Volunteer Relationships Drive Volunteer Success 
• Positive Staff-Volunteer Relationships Drive Volunteer Success 
• Effective Volunteer Collaboration Requires Ongoing Development 

This panel presentation will spotlight the role of pets in Canada’s housing crisis. Pets are framed as liabilities within rental and housing markets, leaving families forced to choose between secure housing and the companions they consider family. Our goal is to catalyze a shift in perspective—urging policymakers, housing providers, and the public to view pets as an integral part of families, worthy of recognition in humane housing policies and legal frameworks. 
 
The panel will move beyond a narrow legal or housing discussion to position the issue as a true multisector challenge. It intersects with mental health—given the documented benefits of pets for emotional well-being—social equity—since pet-related housing restrictions disproportionately impact low-income renters and marginalized groups—and animal welfare, as housing barriers can lead to surrender or abandonment. Current law and policy in Canada remain fragmented and heavily market-driven, exacerbating the social suffering of multi-species families. By taking a national view, the panel will explore how more coordinated and compassionate approaches could ease the crisis, emphasizing the urgent need to embed the human–animal bond within housing justice solutions. 

Key Learnings 

• Pets as Property Creates Systemic Harm - Canadian law still classifies companion animals as property, restricting tenants’ rights and ignoring the lived realities of multispecies families. This outdated legal framework means that families can be forced to surrender their pets, hide them, or face eviction, highlighting a significant gap between social values (regarding pets as family) and legal treatment (regarding pets as objects). Pets are family to most Canadians, but our laws do not account for this. 
• Housing Policy is a Patchwork that Drives Inequity. Ontario’s “no-pet void” clause offers a degree of protection, but elsewhere, landlords can still impose blanket bans, size restrictions, or high pet fees. Even in Ontario, covert discrimination persists. Quebec is moving toward reform, but across Canada, inconsistency in protections has left many renters—especially low-income households, seniors, and survivors of violence—facing a disproportionate housing burden because of their pets. 
• Housing Restrictions Carry Real Human and Animal Costs Pet bans are not just an inconvenience: they cause family disruption, worsen mental health, increase shelter surrenders, and sometimes push people into homelessness. For shelters and SPCAs, this means intake spikes tied to housing shortages. For renters, it means being forced to choose between shelter and their pet. Recognizing these harms underscores housing policy as an animal welfare issue and a public health issue. 

The BC SPCA is excited to welcome you to "the" place to après, Whistler's iconic Garibaldi Lift Co., home to panoramic views, music, good times and tall tales. Start planning your Eighties costume now, neon, acid-wash and big hair not just encouraged, but expected!

• Evening highlights  
• Delicious craft bites with a comfort food vibe
• A complimentary drink, alcoholic and non-alcoholic options available 
• Live music 
• Costume contest

We look forward to a fun-filled night to get the Summit off to a fabulous start!  

Space is limited, buy your ticket early.

WELLNESS ACTIVITY - details coming soon

Sponsored by the Calgary Humane Society.

Take a moment to pause and recharge in the Happy Walrus Recharge Room. This quiet space provides a calm environment with fidget toys, tables, and comfortable spots to relax, reflect, or recharge your energy between sessions.

Rabbits are one of the most frequently overlooked species in animal shelters, particularly when it comes to housing and environmental needs. This session introduces the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) Guidelines for Humane Rabbit Housing in Animal Shelters - the first document of its kind in North America to offer comprehensive, species-specific recommendations for rabbits in shelter settings.

The session will highlight key recommendations, the evidence behind them, and practical strategies for implementation in a range of shelter environments. These guidelines are intended to offer the same kind of practical value as the ASV’s widely used Standards of Care and Spay/Neuter Guidelines—supporting shelters in providing thoughtful, humane care for all animals, including rabbits.

Key Learnings

• Describe the unique characteristics and needs of domestic rabbits in shelter settings.
• Identify crucial elements of primary enclosure design for shelter rabbits, including minimum dimensions, materials, and setup.
• Summarize recommendations for shelter rabbit care beyond the primary enclosure, including those for facility design, population management, cohousing, sanitation, and basic infectious disease considerations.

More speakers coming soon.

This session will illuminate the value of an animal welfare perspective for addressing the drivers of environmental challenges and sustainable development.

It will highlight some of the important links between animal welfare and biodiversity, climate change, pollution, health, food security, and livelihoods. This will draw on examples from the expanding scientific evidence base on how improving animal welfare, for all animals, can better people’s lives and the environment. It will present ways in which we can conceive of animal welfare within wider concepts of health and sustainable development.

It will also identify key opportunities in which international policymaking can consider animals - even within anthropocentric objectives - using examples from recent years such as the UNEA Resolution 5/1, and Pandemic Agreement, and illustrate how we as the animal welfare movement can support this progress to get animal welfare mainstreamed within global agendas.

Key Learnings

• An understanding of key relationships between animal welfare and concerns for human and environmental health
• An understanding of how dominant global agendas might be shifted to include animal welfare concerns as mainstream objectives.
• An understanding of how we can support this development through global advocacy, coordination and allyship.

Toronto adopted the first mandatory bird-friendly development policy in North America in 2010 as part of its city planning process. Since then, dozens of cities in Canada and the United States have adopted similar bird-friendly building laws through a municipal ordinance or sustainable development plan, making it a regular feature of green building. What made Toronto the first?

This presentation will explore the significant social and political factors that led Toronto city government to adopt a major policy innovation to benefit birds. It will draw on first-hand accounts from Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada Executive Director Michael Mesure as well as public policy analysis from bird-friendly building policy expert Meredith Barges to understand the role of local bird advocates, green building experts, and policy entrepreneurs like former Toronto Mayor David Miller in this environmental law breakthrough.

This session will provide important insights for advocates and municipalities interested in passing a bird-friendly building policy or other innovative environmental policy, sustainability, and urban planning in their own jurisdiction.

Key Learnings

• Learn the history and standards of bird-friendly building policy
• Understand how advocacy to prevent bird building collisions led to historic policy change in Toronto and beyond
• Explain cities' increasing role in front-line bird conservation and environmental law in North America

Visit the Discovery Hub to connect with organizations and companies that support the animal welfare community. Our exhibitors are ready to share their latest products, services, and innovations, giving you insights and ideas to strengthen your work.

Stop by to explore, make connections, and discover new resources. Many exhibitors also have giveaways and special offerings, so don’t miss out!

Bring a little something from your organization and trade it for treasures from others! The Swag Swap is a fun way to share, collect, and discover unique items from across the animal welfare community. Swap, mingle, and take home a piece of the Summit for Animals spirit!

Fearful and undersocialized cats are among the most misunderstood and vulnerable shelter populations. Due to limited socialization, trauma, shy temperaments, or shelter stress, these cats often struggle emotionally and behaviorally, making adoption difficult. This session presents a structured, evidence-based approach to help them progress from fear to comfort with humans using desensitization and counterconditioning grounded in behavioural science.

Participants will learn stepwise protocols for desensitization and counterconditioning to petting. A major strength of the approach is its standardized tracking system, which includes three ordinal scales: Fear, Anxiety and Stress (FAS), Response to Petting (RTP), and Participation in Play (PIP). Published research has shown all three scales to have excellent inter-observer reliability when raters undergo a short training program, which is now available for free asynchronously on Toronto Humane Society’s website.

This method helps case managers assess intervention success, improve outcomes, and ensure consistency across staff and volunteers. This approach is ideal for teams seeking a humane, systematic way to help fearful cats thrive – and ultimately find homes.

Key Learnings

• How to implement a structured desensitization and counterconditioning plan to help fearful and undersocialized cats in shelters build trust and enjoy human interaction.
• Understand the value of using standardized rating tools to evaluate behaviour and welfare in shelters, and will leave with step-by-step protocols, scoring guides, and sample data-tracking templates to apply in their own shelters.
• How to evaluate cat behaviour and modify plans based on progress in consistent, safe, and data-informed behaviour modification efforts.

To many, the world of grantmaking can feel like the Emerald City—powerful, mysterious, and just out of reach. In this session, we'll pull back the curtain to reveal what funders look for before the application even begins. We will guide attendees through the essential steps of pre-application planning: identifying aligned opportunities, assessing organizational readiness, gathering key materials, and building relationships.

Like Dorothy’s journey to meet the Wizard, successful grant preparation is about following the right path, asking the right questions, and understanding what’s really behind the scenes. Attendees will leave with a clearer roadmap and insider insights to demystify the process and set their organizations up for success.

Key Learnings

• Learn how to identify and align with funder priorities
• Assess operational readiness for grant funding
• Build internal capacity to increase funding partnerships

In this session, a PhD graduate from the Ontario Veterinary College will share results from her thesis about companion rabbits. 

Domestic rabbits are becoming more popular as companions. Research shows that they can be amusing, sweet, and satisfying pets, and that some owners are strongly attached. Rabbits, however, can also be destructive, unsociable, and aggressive. Unwanted rabbits may be abandoned outdoors, given away to people, or surrendered to shelters/rescues that may be at/near capacity for these unique, resource-intensive animals often needing expensive veterinary care, long stays, transfers between organizations, fosters, and waitlists. 

Using results from a survey of 2000+ rabbit owners, we will explore risk factors for rabbit retention and how we might support guardians to avoid shelter intake. We will examine how companion rabbit owners respond to human-animal relationship scales designed to measure the human-animal bond and behavioural interactions with other species. Through these studies, we will gain valuable insights into the lives of rabbit owners and their rabbits, particularly house rabbits (rabbits that live completely indoors), and be better prepared to launch or enhance community-focused rabbit programs. 

Key learnings 

• Participants will learn about risk factors for rabbit owners considering giving their rabbit away and releasing their rabbit outdoors. 
• Attendees will explore research on human-rabbit relationships (the owner’s bond and bidirectional interactions). 
• This session will inform or fine-tune social media content, educational materials, and rabbit-related programs (e.g., foster-to-adopt, surrender waitlist support). 

We are all probably guilty of making statements that accuse people of being ignorant. As a result, we focus heavily on the need to educate. Once we educate or promote, they will change their behaviour, and all will be resolved.

But how many of us understand the risks of smoking and do it anyway? How many of us understand just how much exercise we should do, and avoid it regardless? The list of desirable behaviours we are fully cognisant of and fail to undertake is long and varied.

Knowing that humans are motivated by factors that are far stronger than simply doing the right thing is a powerful wakeup call for those of us needing to promote responsible and humane behaviours.

We need to understand the audience’s perspectives, their motivations, and the barriers they perceive to the action, not our assumptions of them. Once we understand our audience, there is a huge menu of tactics we can choose from to leverage changes in behaviour instantaneously. We can redirect our scant resources into campaigns and initiatives that effectively improve the lives of animals.

A successful behaviour change approach is as much (if not more) about removing the barriers to action, rather than converting our target audience into animal welfarists.

Key Learnings

1. We can change behaviour in an instant
2. Awareness raising is only half the battle
3. We need to speak to our target audience to understand them

Enjoy a delicious lunch while taking a well-deserved break from the sessions. This is also a great time to connect with fellow attendees and visit the Discovery Hub to explore exhibitors, resources, and innovations in the animal welfare community.

Behavioral euthanasia is the most taboo topic in animal welfare. Too often, shelter staff face the impossible choice between warehousing unadoptable animals indefinitely or facing backlash for making the humane — but heartbreaking — decision to euthanize.

There’s a striking lack of formal protocols for behavioral euthanasia, especially for cats. There is no feline equivalent to dog bite scales, and many shelters misclassify behavioral euthanasias as medical ones. For canines, shelter staff feel pressure to hang on to unplaceable dogs.

In this candid session, shelter consultants Sara Pizano, DVM, and Monica Tarant, feline welfare expert, lead a compassionate dialogue on when behavioral euthanasia might be ethically appropriate. They’ll help you reframe what acting in an animal’s best interest means, communicate decisions transparently, and give you practical guidelines for tough choices, especially in the context of “no-kill” sheltering.
Come away with renewed clarity, emotional support and tools to balance animal welfare with staff well-being. Because shelter ethics don’t just affect animals: They affect you. It’s time to talk about the sensitive decisions no one wants to make — but too many are forced to face alone.

Key Learnings

• Analyze when behavioural euthanasia is an appropriate and humane decision for both dogs and cats.
• Recognize signs of compassion fatigue and moral injury in yourself and your staff.
• Communicate more effectively with the public and within your organization about difficult decisions.

This interactive conversation between Paws for Hope's Executive Director Kathy Powelson and Fundraising Associate Sara Hoshooley will look at the 5 things Paws for Hope does to grow donor trust, build relationships at scale, and raise more money.

We'll talk about the mistakes we've made, how we do this with very limited resources, and offer a behind-the-scenes look at what really goes into building a strong fundraising culture. Using case study insights from our last three fundraising campaigns, we'll show you what's really made a difference when it comes to our fundraising success.

You'll receive tangible tips and suggestions you can take back to your organization and offer interactive opportunities to practice learnings as a group.

Key Learnings

• How to build genuine relationships with donors at a scale.
• Identifying the investments you'll need to make to make this happen (we'll give you a behind the scenes of how we did it)
• Things you can do right away to make an impact and start building a culture of philanthropy.

The Calgary Humane Society has experienced unprecedented growth in its Community Services portfolio, expanding a handful of pilot initiatives into a comprehensive network of programs addressing the intersection of human and animal needs. By adopting a social service model, we have achieved measurable success in reducing surrenders, preventing abandonment, and keeping pets in their homes through targeted initiatives such as intake diversion, seniors’ support, housing-focused programs, and emergency safekeeping.

Leveraging real program data, this session will demonstrate how connecting with human social service agencies, integrating technology for early intervention, and developing responsive community-based supports can transform shelter outcomes. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies and implementation frameworks for creating or scaling similar programs within their own organizations.

While the abstract highlights the framework, the presentation itself will bring these concepts to life through storytelling, sharing the human and animal journeys behind the data to illustrate the profound impact this approach can have.

Key Learnings

• How the Calgary Humane Society’s Community Services have grown, and the data proving their impact.
• Practical strategies to design and scale social service–aligned programs in any shelter.
• How shelters can reframe themselves as prevention-based agencies, utilizing strategic cross-sector partnerships, to keep pets with the people who love them.

Mass sterilization is an ethical, sustainable, and effective method to control dog and cat populations. In countries with economic disparities and challenging geography, surgical services, staff, and equipment must be brought directly to the animals, rather than animals coming to clinics.

This presentation shares challenges and insights from high-volume sterilization campaigns in remote Colombia, focusing on La Guajira, a desert province at Colombia’s northernmost point. Topics include pre-campaign logistics, coordination with local advocates, setting up makeshift operating rooms, and remote postoperative follow-up.

This session offers a comprehensive view of field veterinary work where adaptability and ethical commitment are essential. It is designed for veterinarians, technicians, support staff, volunteers, and advocates interested in ethical population control and fieldwork in resource-limited settings. It also benefits organizations aiming to replicate intervention models in underserved communities like Canada’s Northern regions.

Participants will gain practical tools to plan and execute sterilization campaigns under adverse conditions and will explore community collaboration in sustaining animal welfare.

Key Learnings

• Adapting elective surgical procedures for population control in low-resource settings without compromising animal welfare.
• The benefits of the lateral surgical approach in female dogs and cats as a safe and effective alternative for mass sterilization campaigns.
• Strategies to ensure animal welfare in contexts where veterinary access is limited and often represents the only available care.

Domestic cats are skilled predators that hunt and harass wild animals, including small mammals and songbirds, but implementing mitigation strategies is complicated given their role as family members and companions. Many people have passionate and contradictory views and opinions on the presence of outdoor cats and allowing cats to wander, creating a “wicked” societal challenge where no single solution will satisfy all stakeholders. The complex and multifaceted ways in which cats interact with people and wild animals across the urban landscape mean that effective solutions must involve collaboration, intention, and science-based approaches. In this way, employing a multi-pronged approach that integrates multiple stakeholders can achieve sustainable coexistence with cats.

In this session, we will describe the complex relationships between cats, people, and wildlife, identifying multiple potential opportunities for interventions to protect urban birds and other small wild animals. We will address specific ways that city residents and municipal governments can reduce outdoor cat populations using scientifically-backed protocols and provide clear examples of how cats compromise the welfare of urban wildlife.

Key Learnings

• Gain knowledge on different ways that municipalities, pet owners, nature-lovers, and a diversity of other stakeholder groups can actively participate in improving the welfare of urban wildlife.
• Learn the necessary skill to initiate programs to reduce outdoor cat populations in their own communities, complete with explanation of a “how-to” kit that is appropriate for any level of expertise and any urban center.
• Learn the risks that outdoor cats pose on urban wildlife based on cat-borne cameras and how cat behaviour, cat demographics, and geographic location impact the severity of their impacts.

More speakers coming soon.

Animal welfare is rapidly evolving, but frontline shelter leaders are still navigating a challenging landscape—public pressure, limited resources, complex behaviour cases, and a workforce stretched thin. This session explores how to lead with compassion and integrity when decisions feel like compromises and ideal outcomes aren’t always possible.

Through a leadership lens rooted in ethical realism, we’ll explore strategies for making humane decisions around intake, euthanasia, and staff wellbeing during times of crisis or capacity strain. The session offers practical tools to support both animals and people in high-pressure shelter environments, with an emphasis on transparency, trust-building, and protecting the long-term sustainability of animal welfare teams. Designed for managers, directors, and program leads, this session centres the human side of sheltering—and what it takes to lead through the grey.

Key Learnings

• Learn how to lead operational teams through ethically ambiguous situations with clarity and care.
• Gain tools for communicating difficult decisions in a way that builds internal trust and external credibility.
• Explore leadership strategies to reduce moral fatigue and support sustainable decision-making under pressure.

Images have created turning points in history. Animal photojournalism helps campaigners, creates proof, sparks awe and shock, influences policy, and ushers in changes in traditions and cultures. Images are tools to be wielded with skill. This session describes animal photojournalism and how it can best be used at all levels to influence stakeholders and general audiences.
 

Key Learnings

• What animal photojournalism (APJ) is.
• How to communicate effectively with images and words.
• The trifecta of awesomeness: working with a visual artist, an NGO, and the media.

Estimating dog populations is complex but important for wildlife conservation, animal health services, and program planning. This study, part of a larger project on an animal health program in an Indigenous community in Canada, aimed to identify census methods suitable for areas with roaming dogs through a literature review and development and trial of a community-based approach.

Varying ownership and confinement statuses—owned, unowned, confined, partially confined, and free-roaming—add complexity and highlight the need for accurate methods. A literature review identified 61 articles. For mixed dog populations, the most common method was human questionnaires. Only one Canadian study in an Indigenous community was identified and used cultural knowledge and household surveys.

Establishing efficient, context-specific census methods is essential. From this review, a participatory mapping census was developed and trialed in Fall 2025, where community members reported dog and cat numbers at their households and neighbours’ homes, using a community map. Data was then mapped in Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS)  to create heat distribution maps. This approach improves understanding of effective census methods for mixed dog populations.

Key Learnings

• Estimating dog populations in communities with varying levels of dog ownership and confinement (e.g., owned, unowned, partially confined) requires tailored approaches that go beyond conventional census techniques.
• Incorporating Indigenous cultural knowledge and community participation is essential for developing effective and respectful census methods, especially in contexts where standard techniques may not capture the full picture.
• Participatory mapping can be used as a potential census tool.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Greater Good Charities (GGC) mobilized within hours to meet urgent humanitarian, animal welfare, and environmental needs. Unlike models that focus on a single sector, GGC engaged its full capacity; disaster relief, animal care, logistics, and environmental protectionto deliver aid at scale.

Since the start of the conflict, GGC has provided nearly 12 million meals to refugees and displaced people, along with over 31 million pet meals across Ukraine. Their teams distributed 21,000+ food boxes, 12,000 hygiene kits, and 51,000 blankets; supported medical relief with 2.3 million+ items; and delivered critical veterinary services, including mobile clinics and spay/neuter programs. Beyond people and pets, they sustained 24,500 bee colonies by supplying more than 147,000 lbs of sugar syrup and pollen substitute.

Centered on flexibility, partnership, and operational excellence, GGC coordinated hundreds of grants and shipments, managed last-mile delivery in war zones, and strengthened local partners. This session explores how an integrated, cross-sectoral model can amplify disaster response and resilience for people, animals, and the environment.

Key Learnings

• Listen locally and be flexible. An effective response depends on adapting quickly while respecting local knowledge and capacity
• Cross-sector collaboration expands impact. By engaging animal welfare, humanitarian aid, and environmental partners together, organizations can deliver more comprehensive, efficient, and sustainable relief.
• Partnerships support long-term recovery. Building strong, creative alliances with local organizations enables broader reach, faster response, and innovative solutions in crisis situations.

This panel brings together speakers of the Kitasoo Xai'xais and Tla'amin Nations with diverse lived wildlife experience. We will share traditional knowledge and expertise in policy, community organizing, and on-the-ground conservation experience to challenge the status quo. We will also discuss the importance of wildlife co-existence in our day to day lives, that aligns with our traditional knowledge practices.

Through storytelling and case studies, we will share examples of systemic barriers that prevent timely, ethical, and science-based action for wildlife and the impact when decisions and change come too late. We will highlight the critical importance of committing to the TRC Calls to Action and to the UNDRIP, with the intentional inclusion of Indigenous voices and application of traditional knowledge, improving ecological stewardship for all. We will present emerging models of governance, co-management, and community-led conservation efforts that are already delivering better outcomes.

Recognizing the human-caused hazards created in an increasingly built environment, participants will be inspired to use a lens of Reconciliation in day-to-day decision-making as it affects urban, suburban and other wildlife.

Key Learnings

• Learn practical approaches to decolonizing wildlife policy.
• Exercise mindfulness to ensure decision-making is inclusive, collaborative, and responsive to diverse voices.
• Find inspiration to reduce harms to wildlife and habitat as an act of reconciliation.

More speakers coming soon.