Sociology alum Dr. Amy Fitzgerald discusses Canada's animal protection policies in new article

December 31, 2019 - Karessa Weir

Now an associate professor at the University of Windsor, Dr. Fitzgerald writes about new dedicated public animal protection force in Ontario and how it can impact lives of animals across Canada for the better.

"Moving animal protection work into the public service will improve the working conditions and benefits, so it would attract a strong pool of experienced and well-trained applicants – good news for animals. The plan to have specialists focused on particular types of investigations and animal species, alongside well-trained general investigators, is laudable. The critical next step will be to properly support and protect this work force, physically and psychologically. Investigating suspected crimes against animals is incredibly difficult work. Officer well-being needs to be taken seriously through appropriate protective and communication equipment, effective mental-health programs and other pro-active and responsive strategies. The province should also carefully consider having officers partnered in the field," wrote Dr. Fitzgerald, along with co-author Kendra Coulter, chair of labour studies at Brock University and fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

Read the full article here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-will-the-rest-of-the-country-follow-ontarios-bold-move-to-protect/?fbclid=IwAR2rct-GMf49p28MBrIkV5XJo92gZcssg4B9d1HySrFOMQKOz2poZ4m8M_I

Dr. Fitzgerald now teaches in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminology at the University of Windsor and is also associated with the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research. She is a founding member of the Animal and Interpersonal Abuse Research Group.