Help Stop Animal Cruelty in Canada
On 14 February 2008, the House of Commons Committee on Justice and Human Rights reviewed Bill S-203. Both the NDP and the Bloc proposed amendments that would improve Bill S-203, making it more effective in gaining convictions against offenders who neglect animals or engage in activities such as training animals to fight each other.
These amendments were voted against by the Conservative and the Liberal Committee members. A final vote was taken on S-203 and the NDP was the only party to vote against the Bill on behalf of the vast majority of Canadians.
Canada needs stronger animal cruelty laws - now!
IFAW has been working for seven years to pass modern legislation in Canada that will protect animals from horrific acts of cruelty, including amendments that:
- Update the language so that it is easier to prosecute individuals who neglect their animals.
- Remove animals from the property section of the Criminal Code of Canada. Currently wild and stray animals are virtually unprotected from shocking acts of cruelty because they are not considered property.
- Make it illegal to breed animals for fighting.
But now all of this work is being threatened. Senate Bill S-203 is making its way through Parliament and may derail all of our efforts to protect animals from cruelty.
What you can do to help protect Canada’s animals from cruelty
Bill S-203 is an ineffective bill which does not contain the amendments that IFAW has been fighting for. The bill contains the same loopholes and outdated language of the Criminal Code and only provides a few increased penalties which will remain nearly impossible to enforce.
Animal abusers who slip through the cracks unpunished today will continue to do so under S-203. Law enforcement officers would still be helpless to protect the 56 dogs that were neglected and systematically shot by the man they were dependent on to care for them.
In order for animal cruelty legislation in Canada to be effective the current laws must be amended in the following ways:
- Make it illegal to kill an animal with brutal or vicious intent;
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Make it clear that it is illegal to train an animal to fight other animals;
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Distinguish between intentional and neglectful cruelty to tailor maximum
penalties;
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Raise penalties for intentional cruelty to a maximum of five years’
imprisonment;
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Remove the cap on fines from the current maximum of $2,000;
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Prohibit cruelty offenders from owning an animal in the future;
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Allow judges to order anyone found guilty of animal cruelty to pay
restitution to the animal welfare organization that subsequently cared for the
animal;
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Remove animal cruelty charges from the property section of the Criminal Code
of Canada and create separate "Animal Cruelty Offences" section;
- Remove outdated distinctions between different kinds of animals;
