Candle Light Vigil at Skyway Animal Hospital.

Brock Students for Animal Liberation (BSAL) and Niagara Action for Animals (NAfA) will be hosting a candlelit vigil for the animals who have suffered at the hands of local veterinarian Dr. Mahavir Rehki of Skyway Animal Hospital. Recent undercover footage come out exposing Dr. Rekhi’s violent handling of the animals in his care, and concerned citizens are outraged at the lax discipline he faces.  See full story here: http://www.lfpress.com/2016/09/15/i-was-disgusted-ont-vet-caught-choking-punching-animals

Please join us for a silent vigil standing up for animals who have been subjected to this cruel behaviour.

Candles and signs will be provided at the Vigil, but you are welcome to bring your own (*anti-oppressive and non-discriminatory) signs and candles if you wish.

We would encourage you to leave your companion animals at home to keep everyone safe and not expose your furry friend to any undue distress that may inevitably arise from large crowd gatherings 🙂

The MEDIA RELEASE is below:

A Candle light vigil has been organized by Niagara Action for Animals and Brock Students for Animal Liberation not only to honour the animal victims who have suffered at the hands of Dr. Rekhi, a professional who was supposed to heal and care for them, but to acknowledge that animal cruelty is an all-too common reality in the many normative practices of our society. We hope that this vigil will provide an opportunity for the community to reflect on how we can all take steps to reduce suffering and prevent acts of cruelty to all animals. The Candle light vigil will take place Monday, September 26th from 7:15pm-8:30pm in front of Skyway Animal Hospital, 514 Welland Ave. (near Bunting) St. Catharines.

In response to the recent undercover footage of local veterinarian Dr. Mahavir Rekhi violently handling the animals in his care, concerned members of the community are seeking justice for the animals who fell victim to his cruel and irresponsible practices. While the public is demanding that Dr. Rekhi be held accountable for his actions with appropriate penalties, the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO) has issued very lax disciplinary actions – suspending his licence for a mere 10 months, with the possibility of an even shorter sentence of 4 months provided he completes a ‘re-training’ program. This is an outrageous and embarrassing display of ‘justice’ as the Criminal Code of Canada maintains that animal cruelty can carry penalties of up to 5 years in prison, and provincial law carries a 2 year sentence and up to $60,000 in fines. Needless to say, Dr. Rekhi’s status as a vet should not exempt him from an appropriate sentencing within the operation of the law.

Additionally, this case illustrates how the CVO has breached their Mission, Overview and Mandate to “protect our right to safe, competent and ethical veterinary care” by issuing such weak disciplinary action on Dr. Rekhi. This is especially disappointing after employees went public with undercover footage clearly showing not only neglect, but outright abuse of the animals at the hands of Dr. Rekhi.

On another note, while we all ought to acknowledge the fact that Dr. Rekhi was educated and trained in a foreign jurisdiction where the status of animals may vary, this is no way excuses the cruel, deliberate and unjustifiable abuse demonstrated by his actions.

• Contact: Liz Smith, Founder; Brock Students for Animal Liberation 905-371-6205, sigrun@gmail.com
• Cath Ens-Hurwood, Co-Founder; Niagara Action for Animals 905-688-5749, nafa9@sympatico.ca

Niagara Action for Animals (NAfA)

94 Welland Avenue
St. Catharines, ON  L2R 2N1
905-682-4970
Registered Charity # 85868 3188 RR0001