Opponents label animal cruelty bill as too weak
Matthew Jay , Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, April 01, 2008
OTTAWA - An animal cruelty bill headed for final reading in the House of Commons Friday has been condemned by opponents as "19th century legislation adjusted for inflation."
Bill S-203, a private member's bill originating in the Senate, is the latest in a long line of attempts to update Canada's animal cruelty laws, which date back to 1892. Opponents of the bill contend it only adds increased penalties to laws that are already difficult to enforce.
Shelagh MacDonald, program director for the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, said S-203 fails to update existing legislation. "It's like fixing the brakes on a car when the engine won't start," she said.
New Democratic Party MP Joe Comartin
Windsor Star file
MacDonald appeared at a news conference Tuesday morning, alongside Liberal MP Marlene Jennings and Joe Comartin of the NDP to rally opposition to the bill.
"Bill S-203 is nothing more than a smokescreen that will allow acts of cruelty to continue unabated," said Comartin.
He said the bill is an attempt to look like action by politicians on the issue when there is none. According to a report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Canadian courts convict barely one per cent of cases under the current animal cruelty laws.
Under S-203, there would be no legal definition of what an animal is and animal neglect would have to be proven to be predetermined or wilful in order to be prosecuted.
MacDonald wants to see a law that will crack down on cruelty without infringing on legitimate practices. It's important, she said, that animal cruelty laws don't interfere with farmers, hunters and anglers or anyone else engaging in otherwise legal activities.
Liberal Senator John Bryden, who introduced the bill, waded into the animal cruelty fray after watching the five previous bills that sought to address the problem fail to become law.
"(The previous attempts) died primarily because the bills tried to do too much," said Bryden. "I put a bill in that didn't change the law, it addressed the penalties."
He was convinced animal cruelty laws remained stagnant because of bickering over details. Bill S-203 seeks to increase the maximum prison term for animal cruelty to five years for an indictable offence and a maximum 18 months plus and/or $10,000 fine for a summary conviction.
"Mine isn't a Cadillac bill, it's a Chevy," he said.
According to Bryden, Bill S-203 is supported by both the Conservative government and the Bloc Quebecois. He said many in the Liberal caucus expressed support for the bill last fall, including the rural, Atlantic and northern Liberal caucuses.
A similar private member's bill that has passed second reading, Bill C-373, fulfils the wishes of Bryden's critics by increasing penalties but at the same time updating the scope of the law to provide protection for animals from brutality, neglect and to clamp down on the breeding and training of animals for the purpose of fighting.
As well, it would also provide a legal definition of an animal, currently considered a piece of property which denies legal recognition and protection of wild animals.
Bill C-373, supported by CFHS along with other animal protection groups, veterinarians and policing groups, was introduced in October of 2006 by Liberal MP Marc Holland. It stops short of becoming an animal bill of rights, said MacDonald.
"This legislation has nothing to do with animal rights, it has to do with bringing animal cruelty laws into the 21st century," she said.
© Canwest News Service 2008