Animal welfare, rescue groups ask governments to help control dog populations after volunteer’s death
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Eighteen animal welfare and rescue organizations are asking all three levels of government to better fund and co-ordinate efforts to control canine overpopulation in the wake of the death of a dog-rescue volunteer.
Amanda Nobiss, 37, died at Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation earlier this month after visiting the Lake Manitoba community to pick up puppies from a resident.
The First Nation has said the homeowner wasn’t there and she encountered “protective and aggressive” dogs. Nobiss was found on July 17, and an autopsy suggests she was killed by the animals, two of which were later euthanized.
The letter, dated Tuesday, is from 18 organizations, led by the Winnipeg Humane Society, K9 Advocacy Manitoba and Partners in Prevention. It asked the federal, provincial and municipal governments to step up funding for animal rescue groups, make veterinary services more accessible for First Nations and other communities and better co-ordinate efforts to protect both people and dogs.
The organizations also advocated for better supports for First Nations so they can run their own programs to neuter and spay dogs as well as feed them, care for them and ensure their owners have access to a vet.
“For years, Manitoba animal rescues and communities have sounded the alarm regarding animal overpopulation, community safety, and the severe lack of accessible veterinary care and support for communities to care for the animals they love,” the letter states.
“Community safety must come first, and no volunteer should ever have to risk their life filling a gap left by unresponsive public policy.”
Nobiss holds a puppy in a photo presented at the rally. (Partners in Prevention)
The letter echoes a letter authored in 2024 by 45 animal welfare groups across Canada that expressed similar concerns about dog overpopulation in Manitoba.
That letter was addressed to Premier Wab Kinew, Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn, Indigenous Futures Minister Ian Bushie and Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer.
The organizations stated in a letter at the time that Manitoba was facing an “ongoing animal overpopulation crisis,” leading to increased dog attacks and risks of rabies.
Indigenous Services Canada acknowledged the 2026 letter but did not respond to it before the publication of this story.
In a statement, Kostyshyn said he met with the Winnipeg Humane Society on Monday about what he called the “heartbreaking tragedy” and committed to further meetings.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs did not respond to a request for comment before this story was published.
Supporting programs led by First Nations is the most important effort, said Katie Powell of Save the Dogs Network. It organized a rally in honour of Nobiss on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building on Wednesday afternoon.
“That’s the biggest thing that we want to address — it has to come from these First Nation communities,” Powell said.
“It has to come from the communities that want the change. And then, we have to support those programs.”
