Erin O'Toole Just Promised To Ban Puppy Mills & Animal Testing If He Gets Elected

Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole has made a series of animal welfare promises as part of his federal election campaign, including banning puppy mills.

Speaking from Ontario on August 30, the party leader laid out his plans to "promote animal welfare and end abuse and violence against animals."

"It's time to protect the welfare of our pets and the people who love them," he told reporters on Monday.

He went on to say that a Conservative government would ban puppy mills, which he described as "inhumane, high-volume dog breeding facilities that churn out puppies for profit, ignoring the needs of the pups and their mothers."

O'Toole also promised to "crack down" on unethical breeders and dealers who falsely claim to offer rescue animals or pets.

The party says they would also work towards ending international imports of creatures bred inhumanely and strengthen enforcement powers to seize animals when brought into the country under "poor welfare conditions."

The final promise laid out by O'Toole on Monday was a "long overdue" Canadawide ban on cosmetic testing on animals.

In an Instagram post shortly after, O'Toole shared several additional prospective policies, including a plan to get "tough on abusers who hurt their spouse by hurting their spouse's pet" and to "make it easier for women to leave abusive homes, without having to abandon their pets."

The party leader's own dog, Wexford, even went along with his owner to Monday's campaign stop.