From AnimalNet

CANADA: Michael Vick might like it here
01.apr.08
Edmonton Sun
Mindelle Jacobs
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/2008/04/01/5159556-sun.html
Canada boasts of being a beacon to the world in justice matters, but,
according to Jacobs, we are an international embarrassment when it
comes to our cowardly and ineffective animal cruelty laws.
An astonishing 99% of animal abuse complaints in Canada go unpunished
because our laws are so weak, according to the International Fund for
Animal Welfare.
The organization compared animal protection legislation in 14
countries, including Great Britain, Germany, Austria, New Zealand and
the Philippines, and found that Canada ranks at the bottom of all
comparisons.
Canada, for instance, is the only country in the study that makes it
virtually impossible to prosecute cases of neglect, or protect wild
and stray animals.
And while participating in animal fighting is illegal here, Canada is
the only nation in the report that permits the breeding and training
of animals to fight as well as allowing people to profit from such
activities.
In other words, it would have likely been impossible to prosecute
Michael Vick in Canada because he wasn't found in the actual act of
dogfighting, points out Shelagh MacDonald, of the Canadian Federation
of Humane Societies (CFHS).
Jacobs goes on to say that here's another grim fact guaranteed to turn
your stomach. In civilized, compassionate Canada, the Criminal Code
law that prohibits killing an animal without a lawful excuse only
applies to owned animals.
You could go around beating stray dogs to death and could technically
only be charged with causing unnecessary pain and suffering -- not
with killing the animals.
Similarly, if the two cats recently killed in Alberta were wild, no
one can be prosecuted for killing them. The people who hung a cat from
a lamppost over the weekend in Ponoka, south of Edmonton, and who cut
in half and disembowelled a cat last week in an Edmonton school yard
are deeply disturbed individuals.
But Canada does not care enough about the welfare of animals to
replace our 19th-century animal cruelty laws with tough legislation
meant to crack down on animal abusers.
It's extremely difficult to prosecute cases of animal neglect, for
instance, because the Criminal Code requires proof of wilful neglect.
That's probably why there have been no Criminal Code charges stemming
from the seizure of 100 starving horses from an Alberta ranch in
February, says MacDonald of the CFHS. (Charges have been laid under
Alberta's Animal Protection Act, however.)
Jacobs goes on to say, make no mistake. Our federal politicians know
all of this, but they're sticking their heads in the sand anyway. They
are poised to pass a shameful Senate bill on Friday (Bill S-203) that
will merely increase the penalties for animal abuse, but leave the
1892 legislation intact.
"It's difficult to be hopeful at this point. It's really shocking that
(the bill) has come this far because it is so strongly opposed by
every animal protection group in the country," says MacDonald.
The legislation our MPs should be championing is Liberal MP Mark
Holland's private member's bill (Bill C-373) which not only increases
penalties, but rewrites the legislation to make it easier to prosecute
perpetrators.
Unfortunately, that bill is nowhere near seeing the light of day.
"The only thing the Senate bill does is increase sentences. The
problem is we can't get convictions. So the sentences don't matter an
ounce if you don't get convictions," Holland said yesterday. "My fear
is that if the Senate bill passes, we're going to have to wait a long
time for effective animal cruelty legislation in this country."
Think about it. It's not just about seals anymore.