Stop Animal Cruelty in Canada

The main reason Canada remains largely ineffective in preventing animal cruelty is the lack of tough laws and large fines in cases of cruelty and neglect. For those who make a living from animal cruelty, such as puppy mill owners, the profitability far outweighs any penalties they may receive.

The current maximum fine for animal cruelty is a mere $2,000 and a possible two-year ban on animal ownership.  The laws have not been updated in more than 100 years. Meanwhile, the cruelty continues.  Each week there are more incidents like Libby, the two-year-old golden retriever-border collie mix recently found on her owner's doorstep with thirteen stab wounds.

Eight years is far too long to stop animal cruelty

First introduced in the House of Commons in December 1999, the anti-cruelty Bill has been known as C-17, C-15, C-15B, C-10, C-10B, C-22, C-50 and most recently C-373.  There has been adequate debate on the anti-animal cruelty bill amongst multiple stalls and failed passages, and during all this political wrangling animals continue to suffer heinous acts of cruelty.  When Parliament re-opens after the election, the Bill must be swiftly reintroduced in exactly the same form as Bill C-50 and no amendments.

The proposed amendments will make the following changes to the Criminal Code of Canada:

1. Remove animals from the property offences section of the Criminal Code, allowing for protection of animals that are not %u201Cowned%u201D, such as strays and wildlife species.

2. Provide tougher penalties for those convicted of willful and unnecessary animal cruelty or neglect, including increasing penalties to five years in jail and fines reaching $10,000 with the ability to ban offenders from owning animals in the future. Currently, the law allows a maximum of six months in jail and fines of up to $2,000.

3. Establish animal cruelty crimes as hybrid offences, rather than punishable only as summary conviction offences, providing judges with broader sentencing discretion.

No one should be above the law in Canada

Hunters, anglers and animal use industry groups are now claiming that they deserve an exemption from the Criminal Code of Canada. In other words, the Criminal Code of Canada, which allows law enforcement, prosecutors and judges to punish people for criminal behaviour would not apply to them %u2013 no matter what their behaviour.

It is unacceptable and inappropriate to explicitly exempt anyone from the Criminal Code of Canada. For example police officers, physicians and athletes are not are not exempt from assault laws, on the assumption that because they occasionally use force in their jobs they may be exposed to frivolous prosecutions.

There are protections in place that ensure what is legal in Canada now (hunting, fishing, farming, research etc) will remain legal under the term %u201Clawful excuse%u201D.  Addressing the criminal abuse or neglect of animals, the legislation does not interfere with lawful, accepted animal-use practices and it further protects and supports indigenous rights already entrenched in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Animal use industries have been granted several amendments to ensure that these practices, if under industry standards, are protected. In fact under the new legislation they have more protection.  In the past these same groups have supported the legislation exactly as it is now. By asking for these exemptions now they are deliberately delaying the passage of the Bill.

Canadians want to protect animals

Ninety-three percent of Canadians polled support tougher animal cruelty legislation including law enforcement officers, lawyers, researchers, farmers, hunters and animal welfare organizations.