By Tina Comeau
THE VANGUARD
NovaNewsNow.com
The province has introduced legislation that sets new rules to manage and develop the fur industry in Nova Scotia and Agriculture Minister John MacDonell believes it strikes the right balance between industry and public concerns.
“We’re a promoter of agriculture and this industry, but we also have the role as a regulator,” MacDonell told The Vanguard in a telephone interview.
The Act for Development and Management of the Nova Scotia Fur Industry was introduced in the Legislature on Thursday, April 29. The new legislation places more responsibility on ranchers to ensure their operations take into account the effect on their neighbours and the environment.
The act requires that fur ranchers obtain a site approval permit before getting their operating licence. Ranchers will also have to have an environmental management plan in place that address issues such as waste, water management and disease prevention.
MacDonell says the inclusion of these things is significant. He notes the new legislation gives the Department of Agriculture inspection and enforcement authority.
“In the present legislation, we could only go down and issue a licence or a permit once the operation was built and the mink were in the cages,” he says. “Now they have to contact us and get an operating licence before they even break ground to do anything. We would inspect the site and ensure that there was nothing there that we felt was going to be a problem. We can also do this in the development of the environmental management plan. So before they even get started, we’d be involved.”
The issue of mink farming has been a hot topic in Yarmouth County over the past year. Many people point to mink farming as a suspected cause to blue-green algae that has shown up in the Carleton river and lakes system. MacDonell is aware of those concerns; although he says even the Department of Environment couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause of the algae.
But one thing that arose during community meetings last year was concern over the lack of regulations within the industry. MacDonell says the new legislation should address this.
According to the province, the Nova Scotia mink industry has seen a steady climb in profit in recent years, with export sales exceeding $65 million and 2008 and about $80 million last year. So it is an important industry in terms of the revenue it generates and the people it employs. The minister says the mink industry has been very cooperative and interested in striking this legislation.
“I think they were as interested to get stronger legislation around their industry as we were for them, their communities and their neighbours,” MacDonell says. “I think this can only turn out to be a very good thing. They’re a major economic force in this province and we would like to keep them around, but we don’t want people suffering as a result.”
"I think this can only turn out to be a very good thing. They’re a major economic force in this province and we would like to keep them around, but we don’t want people suffering as a result.” - Agriculture Minister John MacDonell talking about the new legislation
In a news release Earl Prime, president of the Nova Scotia Mink Breeders Association, says the industry feels confident this legislation will help the mink industry in the long run, which is key for an industry that offers valuable employment in rural areas.
MacDonell says existing ranches in the province will have three years to comply with the new standards once they are set. But if people have complaints during the compliance period they can still forward complaints to the Fur Farm Practices Board.
“It struck me that if we were going to allow three years for present operations to come into compliance on the environmental management plans, that I really should have some authority to intervene if communities thought there was a problem,” he says.
The legislation will go through law amendments, where the public can comment on it, and committee of the whole – both these places allow for amendments – before third reading takes place and the legislation is eventually enacted into law.
