Definition of 'animal' may hold up cruelty law

By KIM LUNMAN
Ottawa - The federal government's move to update Canada's century-old
animal-cruelty law has hit another snag with proposed Senate changes,
including one suggestion to exclude the words "has the capacity to feel
pain" from the bill's definition of animal.
Documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show that the Senate is also
looking at a proposal to exempt some groups from the new law.
Animal-rights activists are so enraged by the proposals that they are
threatening to withdraw their support from Bill C-10B. The bill was tabled
in 1999 to strengthen animal-cruelty legislation, which has not
significantly changed since 1892.
As passed by the Commons, the bill defines an animal as "a vertebrate, other
than a human being, and any other animal that has the capacity to feel
pain."
A Senate committee has proposed amending that definition of animal to read
"a vertebrate, other than a human being."
The term vertebrate refers to species with a backbone, such as fish, birds,
mammals and amphibians. Using that word would exclude creatures such as
octopus, squid, lobster and crab.
The documents outlining the proposed changes suggest the bill's definition
of an animal is "overly broad" and say there is continuing scientific debate
about "whether a being has the capacity to feel pain."
The documents outlining possible amendments were prepared after a March 27
meeting in camera of the Senate's standing committee on legal and
constitutional affairs.
"The definition in Bill C-10B feeds into concerns that the bill adheres to
animal-rights philosophy and that an ideological shift is taking place in
favour of the emancipation of animals," the documents state.
Animal-rights advocates accuse the Senate committee of capitulating to the
animal-industry lobby.
"We will withdraw our support of the bill if they go ahead with the
amendments," said Shelagh MacDonald, program director of the Canadian
Federation of Humane Societies. "We are absolutely drawing a line in the
sand. The original intent of the bill is to improve animal-cruelty laws.
This would go backward."
The Senate is also considering exemptions for hunters, trappers, scientific
researchers acting under "generally accepted standards," those who practise
animal husbandry or slaughter, and natives practising "traditional hunting,
trapping or fishing."
Ms. MacDonald said this would create a two-tiered animal-abuse law.
The Liberal government wants to amend the Criminal Code's section on cruelty
to animals to impose tougher penalties.
Under the bill, those convicted of causing "unnecessary pain and suffering
or injury to an animal" could face maximum jail sentences of up to five
years and a $10,000 fine. The maximum penalty for animal cruelty now is a
$2,000 fine and six months in jail.
Advocates for various animal industries have appeared before the Senate
legal affairs committee to explain that their members treat animals humanely
but want to be exempt from the cruelty bill. They want assurances that
people who use humane methods will not be subject to attempts by
animal-rights groups to prosecute them privately.
The Poultry Welfare Coalition wanted an amendment to protect chicken
farmers, and the Canadian Council for Animal Care and the Association of
Universities and Colleges of Canada requested exemptions for research labs
that adhere to industry guidelines.
The committee even called on pain experts, who testified that a lobster
being boiled does not feel pain.
Bill C-10B is close to becoming law, but amendments could delay the already
stalled legislation once again. It's currently in Senate committee after
third reading in the House and second reading in the upper chamber.
If the Senate decides to send the bill back to the Commons with amendments,
MPs could vote on the amended legislation and pass the law or send it back
to the Senate for changes.
Animal-rights advocates say the proposed changes, if adopted, would weaken
the bill considerably and make it more difficult to prosecute cases of
animal cruelty.
"Senators have lost sight of the very serious problem of animal cruelty in
Canada," said David Loan, campaign manager for the International Fund for
Animal Welfare. "I'm hoping the Senate will take a step back and remember
what this law is for. They're setting it back prior to 1892."
The bill's supporters include the Association of Chiefs of Police, the
Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and the governments of Ontario, Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick.

A. Gibson
Toronto Coalition for Anticruelty Legislation (Bill C10 AKA Bill C15b)
anne@anticruelty.ca
http://www.anticruelty.ca
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
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