Sunderland primate sanctuary backs Bill 35 push for Ontario zoo licensing

Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Sunderland is lending its voice to a provincial push for zoo licensing, as Bill 35 — the Captive Wildlife Protection Act, 2025 — waits for Second Reading at Queen's Park more than a year after it was introduced.

The bill, introduced by Liberal MPPs Lucille Collard (Ottawa-Vanier) and Karen McCrimmon (Kanata-Carleton), received First Reading on May 29, 2025, and has been ordered for Second Reading, though no date has been scheduled. If passed, it would require every zoo in Ontario to hold a provincial licence, with annual inspections, prescribed standards of care, staff qualifications, emergency plans and enforcement powers — including fines of up to $50,000 for individuals and $250,000 for corporations. It would also restrict how wild animals may be acquired, possessed, bred or used.

Suzanne Boucher, who has volunteered at the Sunderland sanctuary since 2015 and served on its board from 2016 to 2018, told Daily Durham that Ontario's current system has serious gaps: "We have animal welfare laws and municipal bylaws, but we don't have the comprehensive provincial licensing and inspection framework for zoos that Bill 35 proposes."

Boucher said the issue is about public safety as well as animal welfare: "A wild animal does not recognize a municipal boundary, and neither does the risk associated with an escape, an attack or inadequate containment."

The sanctuary is home to 16 monkeys and 6 lemurs, many rescued from the exotic pet trade or abusive situations. In September it launched its Sanctuary Futures initiative with the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada to campaign for stronger protections for captive primates, and it is currently fundraising $1 million for a new building to rescue more animals.

Boucher said she will ask the sanctuary whether a member of its team would speak directly with Daily Durham. World Animal Protection Canada, which backed the bill's introduction alongside the Toronto Zoo, says Ontario has roughly 30 unlicensed roadside zoos, nearly half of Ontario municipalities lack exotic-animal bylaws, and a 2025 poll found 86 per cent of Ontarians support provincial zoo licensing.