Another Animal Cruelty Bill Introduced

On June 4th, 2008, Penny Priddy, a Vancouver-area NDP Member of Parliament, introduced a bill to amend the animal cruelty sections of the Criminal Code. It is called C-558 and it is very similar to Mark Holland’s Bill C-373. In order for it to be permissible in Parliament, it had to be different enough from an existing bill. The reason for introducing it is that Ms. Priddy’s private member’s bill number is higher up on the list than Mark Holland’s. This means that Bill C-558 should come up for Second Reading debate early in the fall. (There’s a slim possibility of it beginning Second Reading before the summer break.) The following lists how C-558 differs from C-373:

• It has no offence for brutal and vicious killing
• It merges the wording in the animal fighting clause with the specific wording for cockpits, so that it includes training animals to fight, receiving money for fighting and keeping or managing premises for fighting or training animals
• It changes the poisoning clause from 'without lawful excuse' to 'without reasonable excuse'
• It doesn't include the offence of negligently causing unnecessary pain and suffering, but maintains the offence of negligently failing to provide suitable care
• It removes 'negligently' from the clause 'injuring an animal while being conveyed'
• It removes the restitution clause only from the offence regarding harming law enforcement animals

Please click here to read bill C-558 on the Parliamentary website

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Federal Legislation

Is This the Parliament that Will Finally Take a Stance on Animal Welfare?

During the election campaign the CFHS (Canadian Federation of Humane Societies) approached all five major political parties about their stance on a variety of matters related to animal welfare. Having reviewed these responses from every party, except the Conservatives who failed to respond, it was apparent that at least the opposition parties recognize the need to revamp our country’s stance on animal welfare. With the October 14th election now behind us, and the Conservatives victorious, Canadians look forward to learning what issues and challenges the government plans to address when Prime Minister Stephen Harper releases his upcoming throne speech and outlines a fresh mandate. The dominant election issues of the economy and the environment are most likely to be addressed, but the CFHS is waiting to see if Canada’s 40th Parliament will finally take a stance on animal welfare and update the legislation that has made Canada an embarrassment on the international stage.

Eleven times over the last ten years Parliamentarians have seen animal cruelty legislation brought in front of the House of Commons designed to bring Canada up to the standards being set by jurisdictions around the world. Members of Parliament have invested significant time and effort researching and authoring bills such as last sessions’s C-373 and C-558; however, the prorogation of parliament, or the calling of an election have stood in the way of a vote to make any of these bills law. The only animal cruelty bill to make its way through parliament and become law was bill S-203 (originally S-213), which only increased the penalties for offences currently covered by the existing law. The lack of substance and real change leaves Canada’s animal cruelty legislation practically unchanged since 1892.

A fresh start to parliament should allow the governing party and members of the opposition to re-evaluate their stance on animal welfare and do what is necessary to enact meaningful legislation and regulatory reform. This reform is necessary as the current protection for animals in Canada pales in comparison to many developed and developing countries around the world. Nations such as Poland, Ukraine, Austria and South Africa have adopted animal cruelty regulations, which go far beyond the vague and ineffective legislation that has been used in this country since 1892. In comparison to Canada, these countries have legislation protecting all animals (including wild animals) from neglect, acts of cruelty and fighting.

The oversight of the welfare of farmed animals is another matter that has been largely ignored by previous Canadian governments. Substantial progress has been made on the global level as Governments in Europe, among others, have taken the steps to regulate conditions for farmed animals such as the banning of battery cages, and restrictions on tethering, pens/cages, and transportation. Further, both Australia and New Zealand have developed committees to advise ministers and other government officials on ways to ensure that animal welfare is a priority in governmental legislation and policies. These foreign governments have taken the necessary steps to protect against cruelty and inhumane treatment of animals.

These proactive international approaches to animal welfare demonstrate where Canada has fallen far behind other countries. The CFHS will continue to push for updated legislation and regulatory reform. Although the election call removed bill C-373 and C-558 from the order paper, the CFHS sees the commencement of Canada’s 40th Parliament as an opportunity for a fresh start where our parliamentarians can come together to introduce new legislation and finally bring significant restructuring to the way the government of Canada looks at animal welfare. When parliament resumes, we must push to make Canada a model for how we legislate and regulate the way Canadians treat farmed, wild and companion animals, instead of the embarrassment that we have been for far too long.

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