PCA Act

The B.C. Provincial "Prevention of Cruelty to Animals" Act

(2) For the purposes of this Act, an animal is in distress if it is

(a) deprived of adequate food, water, shelter, ventilation, light, space, exercise, care or veterinary treatment,

(a.1) kept in conditions that are unsanitary,

(a.2) not protected from excessive heat or cold,

(b) injured, sick, in pain or suffering, or

(c) abused or neglected.

12  (1) In this section, "critical distress" means distress in an animal of such a nature that

(a) immediate veterinary treatment cannot prolong the animal's life, or

(b) prolonging the animal's life would result in the animal suffering unduly.

(2) If, in the opinion of

(a) a registered veterinarian, or

(b) an authorized agent, if a registered veterinarian is not readily available,

an animal is in critical distress, the authorized agent may destroy the animal or have the animal destroyed.

See the entire B.C. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act

[ back to top ]