Animal Cruelty Legislation

Humane Canada created the following recommendations as a guide to action that can be taken to create a more humane Canada.  With a federal election underway in Canada we are working to ensure that the next government has these issues on their radar and that we will have a plan for action once the government is elected.

Instrumental to creating a humane Canada is federal legislation that protects animals from cruelty and provides a framework to ensure animals are treated humanely and with respect. In many areas, our laws are significantly out of date, and lag behind the international community. When Canadians are polled on these issues, there is overwhelming support for taking action to treat animals more humanely. Support for treating animals humanely is particularly strong among millennials and younger Canadians.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Establish federal leadership on animal welfare by overseeing coordination of all animal-related laws, including the Criminal Code, federal requirements for transport and slaughter, Food and Drugs Act, Fisheries Act, Species at Risk Act, other federal environmental laws, and provincial and territorial laws. Convene an all-party parliamentary Animal Welfare Legislation Review Committee to review all existing animal protections and how they can be coordinated and enhanced to improve the quality of life of animals. The committee would deliver its recommendations to Parliament, and propose national animal protection legislation to implement the committee’s recommendations.
• Provide funding dollars to strengthen the Criminal Justice System’s response to animal cruelty through training for enforcement officers, crown prosecutors and the judiciary on animal crimes and the direct links to improve community safety and reduce societal violence and vulnerability.

• Support the re-introduction of Bill S-214 (ban on cosmetic testing on animals) as a government bill.
• Ensure that all emergency management and response includes animals.
• Ensure ongoing democratic discourse, public consultation and debate regarding the ethics of use of animals is integrated in the legal system, by creating an advisory body to the federal government with representation of provinces, territories, animal welfare non-governmental organizations, industry, scientists, veterinarians, indigenous organizations.
• Create a ministry or interdepartmental group (including, for example, Departments of Agriculture, Justice, Public Safety, Science) as the central hub of animal welfare in federal government.