Bill 35 explained in plain English
Captive Wildlife Protection Act, 2025
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill, the Captive Wildlife Protection Act, 2025, establishes a licensing scheme for operating zoos in Ontario to protect captive wildlife.
Bill 35, the Captive Wildlife Protection Act, 2025, proposes to establish a licensing system for operating zoos in Ontario. The Act would require anyone operating a zoo to obtain a license. It outlines the conditions for obtaining and renewing a license, grounds for refusal or revocation, and inspection powers for animal welfare inspectors. The bill also includes provisions for transitional periods for existing zoos and personal ownership of wild animals, and it makes consequential amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997.
- Establishes a licensing scheme for operating zoos in Ontario.
- Prohibits operating a zoo without a licence.
- Specifies conditions for issuing, refusing, suspending, or revoking zoo licences.
- Grants authority for annual inspections of zoos by animal welfare inspectors.
- Allows for the removal of animals from unlicensed zoos.
- Sets out offences and penalties for contravening the Act.
- Allows the Minister to make regulations concerning various aspects of zoo operations and standards of care.
- Provides transitional rules for existing zoos and individuals who own wild animals when the Act comes into force.
- Amends the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, to exempt licensed zoo operators from requiring a separate licence under that Act.
- Operators of zoos in Ontario
- Individuals who own wild animals (under specific transitional provisions)
- The Minister of Solicitor General (or equivalent)
- The Director appointed under the Act
- The Registrar appointed under the Act
- The Chief Animal Welfare Inspector
- Animal welfare inspectors
- Zoos must operate under a licence.
- Applicants must meet specified conditions to obtain a licence.
- Licensees are subject to annual inspections.
- Licensees may be subject to orders to remedy contraventions.
- Individuals owning certain wild animals transitionally must register them and are subject to inspections and orders.
- Licensees have the right to a hearing if the Registrar proposes to suspend, revoke, refuse to renew a licence, or impose conditions, or if a licence is temporarily suspended.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Persons operating a zoo on the day the Act comes into force may continue to do so without a licence for one year after the Act comes into force, subject to conditions.
- An application for a licence must include an updated animal inventory and other prescribed information by April 30 of the following calendar year.
- Applicants must provide proof of liability insurance in the prescribed amount.
- Prescribed fees may be charged for licence applications.
- Contravention of section 5 (licence required) or subsection 20 (3) (registration and inspection for owners of certain wild animals) is an offence.
- Penalties for an offence are a fine of up to $50,000 for an individual and up to $250,000 for a corporation.
- The Registrar can propose to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a licence for non-compliance with orders or the Act.
- The Chief Animal Welfare Inspector can cause animals to be removed from unlicensed zoos.
- The Act refers to 'prescribed' matters, fees, standards of care, training qualifications, species, and activities, which will be detailed in future regulations.
- The specific conditions under which the Registrar may refuse to issue a licence or suspend/revoke one (beyond specified general grounds) may be subject to interpretation.
- The extent of conditions that the Minister may impose on existing zoos operating without a licence during the transitional period is not fully detailed.
- The exact 'public interest' grounds for temporary suspension of a licence without prior proposal are not explicitly defined.
Establishes a new Act to regulate zoos and protect captive wildlife.
Source: Section 23
Amends subsection 40 (2) to exempt persons holding a licence under the Captive Wildlife Protection Act, 2025, from certain licensing requirements under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997.
Source: Section 21
Sections 24 to 27 of this Act apply to inspections conducted under the Captive Wildlife Protection Act, 2025. Subsections 30 (2) to (7) of this Act apply to orders made by animal welfare inspectors under the Captive Wildlife Protection Act, 2025. Subsection 31 (1) and (2) of this Act are relevant to the grounds for removal of animals.
Source: Sections 13 (2), 14 (2), 15
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced