Help Create Animal Cruelty Laws in Canada
- by: A Canadian Activist
- recipient: Minister of Justice, Rob Nicholson
Animal cruelty is considered a property offence under provisions in the Criminal Code which have not been significantly revised since they were first enacted in 1892. The amendments to these provisions which Parliament passed in April 2008 merely raised the potential penalties for the few accused persons who can be convicted and did not materially improve protection for animals. Further amendments to the Criminal Code are still required to close the loopholes that allow perpetrators of animal cruelty to avoid conviction. Canada still has weaker legislation than the Philippines, Ukraine and many other countries around the world. We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to modernize the animal cruelty provisions in the Criminal Code to effectively protect all animals from deliberate acts of cruelty.
Dear Minister,
We are writing to you, as people who care very strongly about the treatment of animals, to ask you to amend Canada’s animal cruelty provisions under the Criminal Code. A recent poll by HarrisDecima shows that we are not alone. Canadians overwhelming support stronger laws for the protection of animals:
•87% believe Canada’s animal cruelty law should recognize the importance of animal sentience
•87% believe cockfighting and dog fighting laws should be equally strong
•85% support creating a new offence making it illegal to poison, injure or kill a police dog or horse
•84% would make it a more serious crime to brutally and viciously kill animals
•78% of Canadians support removing the loophole that allows animal owners to escape prosecution for neglect if it can’t be proven the neglect was ‘wilful’ in intent
•73% would recognize animals are more than property by moving animal cruelty laws out of the Crimes Against Property section of Canada’s Criminal Code
•72% would remove a loophole which allows animal killers to escape justice by arguing the animals died quickly and likely didn’t suffer (or suffer much)
*WSPA poll by HarrisDecima Oct/Nov ‘10. Accurate to +/‐3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
We recognize that the penalty for animal cruelty crimes was increased in 2008 but these stiffer penalties are meaningless without fixing the loopholes that allow animal abusers to continue to walk away unpunished. For examples of cases where animal abusers have escaped punishment or received a mere slap on the wrist, please visit WSPA’s website: http://www.wspa.ca/animalcrueltycases . It is appalling that the current law cannot successfully be used against someone who would bash his dogs’ heads in with a hammer.
We can no longer ignore the strong relationship between crimes against animals and crimes against people. Research shows that people who abuse animals are more likely to commit future acts of violence against people. Stronger animal cruelty legislation would help stop this cycle of violence and make our communities safer.
We hope you will act on behalf of the vast majority of Canadians who want modern and effective animal cruelty legislation that will protect all animals from deliberate and reckless acts of cruelty and ensure that offenders are justly punished for their crimes. It is clearly the right thing to do. We look forward to understanding your position on this issue.
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.