Crown erred in dropping cruelty charges against zoo

Letter
Published: Friday, January 26, 2007

Re: Zoo spared trial on cruelty charges for hippo's treatment, Westcoast News, Jan. 24

The report of the Crown's decision to stay the cruelty charges against the Greater Vancouver Zoo contains at least two useful lessons.

The most obvious of these is the abject lack of legal protection for exotic animals. The other is the double standard that is applied to corporate and personal criminal behaviour.

The charges against the zoo were not, it appears, dropped because the Crown no longer thought a crime had occurred. They were dropped because the zoo had stopped committing a crime.

Even if one were to assume that there was no more reason to deter this particular zoo from committing more crimes, what about the other purposes which are supposed to be served by the criminal justice system, such as denunciation of criminal conduct, and deterrence to others?

Why are they not applied with equal force when the accused is a corporation? Why should it matter that the zoo has stopped mistreating Hazina?

If it broke the law, it should be held to account like anyone else.

Don Crane

Barrister & solicitor

Vancouver