UPDATE: Toronto Bus is Now Full.

First off we want to thank everyone for their patience in waiting for this information! Now that it is up, please make sure you are at your location in advance. We will have bus captains at each stop that will help you get on board and help you with any questions or concerns on the day off. They will also be there looking to round people up on the day of - make sure you are present and visible!

We also still have room on these buses! So encourage friends and family to get on with you and help us fill them!

*We strongly suggest you arrive at your intended bus stop 15-20 minutes early.*

If you still need a ride, but are not on this bus route please post looking for rides on the demonstration event page.

Toronto / Hamilton / St. Catharines / Niagara Falls

Toronto (Keele Station) - 9:15am

Hamilton (Barton and Mary St. - Food Basics Parking Lot) - 10:10am

St. Catharines (258 Lake St. - Rexall Parking Lot) - 10:50am

Niagara Falls (Marineland - 7657 Portage Rd) - 11:25am

Leaves to return home from Marineland at 3pm.

Waterloo / Kitchener / Guelph / Niagara Falls

Waterloo (115 King St Uptown) - 8:15am

Kitchener (City Hall, Duke Street side) - 8:30am

Guelph (Church of Our Lady Immaculate - 28 Norfolk St) - 9:00am

Leaves to return home from Marineland at 4:30pm.

We are happy to announce our demonstration schedule for May 18th!

The focus for this demonstration has been Ric + the kids. Since our last demonstration on October 7th 2012 there have been kids all over the province taking initiative and rallying against school trips to Marineland. Making impassioned speeches at their schools to teachers, classes, Principals and sometimes even the whole school all at once!

We’ve always felt that youth will be the final decision makers on Marineland, and all animal captivity. Kids like Vijay, Posey and Carrie are the next generation of advocates on this issue and representative of what Marineland fears most - children who know the truth about captivity!

May 18th Demonstration Schedule

Advocates will be on site between 9am - 5pm, however, the main demonstration time is 12-2pm. This will be the main time we will be concentrating on for media as well as the time we will be running this this schedule.

12:00pm - Demonstration Opening and Welcoming

12:10pm - Legal PSA for all Demonstrators

12:25pm - Youth advocate Carrie Tehrani

12:45pm - Jill Krasnicki (Animalia) Performs

1:10pm - Youth advocate Posey

1:25pm - Testament from Test Their Logik Performs

1:45pm - Youth advocate Vijay

2:00pm - Famed ex trainer and anti-captivity advocate Richard O’Barry presented with cheque from the Billie Celebrity Challenge and speaks.

Following Ric’s talk we will make an official count and display of the Origami Whales in order to challenge for the Guinness Book of World Records for “Most Origami Whales Displayed” in Vijay’s name.

Our MC for the day will be Haudenosaunee activist and hip hop artist John Henhawk.

There will be plenty of time in between speakers to mingle, make new friends, build community, make appeals to those entering the park and also raise our voices together to chant. We ask that people respect this schedule and speakers and reserve their attention to the speakers provided. They should be respected and honoured for their hard work and dedication.

Aside from all of this we have some exciting new things coming to this demonstration - some of which we can announce now!

We will have a media tent at this demonstration complete with a generator and power  to recharge cell phones, cameras and laptops as well as wi-fi access for people to edit, upload and post photos and videos from the event as it happens!

You can also count on some of the same old - shirts, raffle tickets, (vegan) baked goods, signs, megaphones and more.

Folks can always rely on on demonstration FAQ’s if you have any more questions about the demonstrations and we will also be updating as we approach with information on things like closest washrooms (Tim Horton’s in Chippewa and Dufferin Islands, etc).

http://marinelandanimaldefense.com/faq

As always, you can contact us at marinelandanimaldefense@gmail.com with any other questions or concerns.

After some media coverage of the Tuesday night pots and pans demonstration at Niagara Falls City Hall organizers have had a select few people reach out letting us know that we have “gone too far.” This is really nothing new - we “went too far” when we demonstrated at John Holer’s house, we “went to far” when folks entered the park and we refused to denounce it, etc. In every case where these arguments are made, however, they rely on information being directed to them by a hostile local press that does not regularly deal with or understand demonstrations and has never (in our opinion) gave adequate coverage of the actual issues we present.

For example, when Niagara Falls Review reporter John Law covered the second “Convergence on John Holer” he framed his entire story on interactions with two neighbors (in a neighbourhood of dozens who were supportive) who did not want demonstrators parking (legally) in front of their homes. This interaction lasted about a half hour - of a five hour demonstration - and happened so far away from the actual demonstration that some people who were at the demonstration had no idea it had occurred. The fact that we were there because John Holer evicted 47 families from the Green Oaks Trailer Park, or that John Holer has shot and killed dogs in the community, or that John Holer’s idea of veterinary medicine for land animals in his care is using his shotgun from his truck - went entirely unreported. As some folks read John Law’s article they contacted us to let us know that we had “gone too far” and they would no longer support us. 

This situation was repeated months later when John Law decided to write an opinion article in the Niagara Falls Review claiming that demonstrators “went too far” by entering the park and shutting down the final dolphin show of the season. John Law was not present at this demonstration, and included information in his article which he know to be false (namely that M.A.D. organizer Dylan Powell “orchestrated” people entering the park). Again, the reasons why anyone would feel compelled to take such an action were ignored and the focus was back upon our groups tactics (or a distortion of them).

When news coverage of the City Hall demonstration started to roll in it was obvious this process was going to be repeated. Sources under reported the amount of people there to make it seem more “fringe,” and every source seemed intent on mentioning that snowballs were thrown. For folks who were actually at the demonstration - they would know that one person had throw snowballs at a brick wall, for a minute or two, and once this was seen they were politely asked to stop. That person, unfortunately, chose to leave the demonstration. At the time of the “snowball” incident no media were present outside.

We were there because Niagara Falls City Council - and this council in particular - has leased public lands to John Holer in an attempt to criminalize demonstrations, has attempted to shut down demonstrations, and also has refused to enforce by laws against John Holer and Marineland. All media were aware of this, all media has knowledge of this. No media made these issues a focus of their articles. That was a conscious decision on their part. Instead, they chose to make some snowballs against a brick wall their focus. Again, this was something that many at the demonstration itself may not have even been aware of happening.

At this point it is hard to convey to folks continually coming to this issue that it is important to read with a critical eye - especially when it comes to local press and Marineland. If you see something that sounds off - ask folks who were actually at those demonstrations what it was like. In a lot of cases local media coverage is being written by people who were not even there.

Aside from that we also have to wonder what John Holer would have to do in order to warrant people voicing their opposition and organizing against him. This is a man responsible for the death of thousands of animals, a man responsible for the suicide of Paula Millard, a man who has shot and killed neighborhood dogs, and a man who ruthlessly evicted 47 families from their homes just because he could (and we are still just scratching the surface). With all of this in mind - what would someone have to do before you would think holding a bake sale outfront of his house would be justified? What would Niagara Falls City Council have to do to protect this person before banging pots and pans outside of their meeting would be justified?

It is important to remember that an unprecedented amount of people signed a petition to attempt to enact change at Marineland - and also important to remember that that petition was laughed off by Mayor Jim Diodati, Tim Hudak and Dalton McGuinty. The options which people feel most comfortable with sometimes also happen to be the most ineffective. There is still no political will, on any level, to enact a closure of the wild capture loophole that allows parks like Marineland to continue to operate. CAZA, OSPCA and the MOE have all placed orders on Marineland and found faults - but even then after the regulatory bodies are exhausted, Marineland will still be able to function and still be able to import more animals. It is up to us.

For folks new to this issue who feel uncomfortable with being loud and ensuring that we are not ignored - it is important to learn the history of Marineland Animal Defense. Throughout the entire 2011 season we did not chant, we did not shout and we didn’t even own a megaphone. We protested quietly - holding signs and offering leaflets to cars as they entered the park. In response, Niagara Regional Police would show up in droves (at height 7 cars, including a Court Services van) and attempt to intimidate demonstrators and insinuate law breaking. We stood our ground. City Officials and By Law Officers also claimed that holding signs and leafleting were “illegal” - we stood our ground and stated our Charter Rights. John Holer threatened to kill a demonstrator (on film) - we stood our ground. In 2012 we started in much the same fashion. We did not chant, we did not shout, and we did not have a megaphone. In June 2012, the City of Niagara Falls (after many meetings with John Holer and Niagara Regional Police) declared the land we demonstrated on a “surplus” (meaning the public does not use it) and leased it to Marineland. This in effect criminalized our demonstrations and forced us to revisit our tactics. We could no longer quietly hold our signs and leaflet to cars as they entered. We bought a megaphone and our next demonstration was our first demonstration at John Holer’s house. Ever since then we have made it a priority to ensure that we will not be ignored and that John Holer - and the City of Niagara Falls - knows that attempts to shut down or criminalize our demonstrations will be met with tactics and strategies that are even harder to ignore. THIS is why we demonstrate at City Hall. This is why this campaign looks as it does as we enter 2013. We do not hold it against those who were not with us in 2011 - but please, learn about our campaign and what brought us to this point. The tactics that we choose are intentional and they are based upon years of following this issue closely and organizing opposition. We do not organize protests on a “whim” or merely for “fun” (although we try to make demonstrating something to enjoy). We are loud. We are going to get louder.