Canadian nonprofit Animal Justice continues advocacy efforts for Boogie, a Japanese macaque confined at an Ontario roadside zoo, who spends his days in a small, barren cage, exhibiting distressing behaviours such as self-biting, pacing, and spinning. Recently, the Ontario NDP wrote to Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, urging him to facilitate Boogie’s transfer out of Bervie Zoo in Kincardine, Ont., to Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Sunderland, Ont.

Animal Justice first highlighted Boogie’s plight in 2022 through Canada’s largest-ever zoo exposé, which aired on CTV’s W5. Despite subsequent visits and multiple complaints filed with Ontario’s Animal Welfare Services (AWS), no changes have been made to improve his situation.

In her letter to Minister Kerzner, NDP MPP Jennie Stevens highlighted a drop in provincial orders and criminal charges since AWS assumed responsibility for animal welfare investigations from the Ontario SPCA in 2019, even though AWS has a significantly larger operating budget of $15.25 million. She urges Minister Kerzner to investigate why animal welfare reports are not being prioritized and why enforcement actions are lagging.