Animals and the Law

Every day, SPCAs and humane societies across Canada receive calls from concerned, often distraught people reporting mistreatment of animals. A family has moved away without taking their animals; a farmer is not feeding his cattle; a neighbour beats her dog; someone is poisoning cats. What can an SPCA do or not do in each case? No one can make people love their animals nor force them to provide optimal care. SPCAs can try to educate them to do so, they can enforce the existing laws against cruelty, and with our help, they can work to improve those laws.

Laws relating to animals fall broadly into two categories: those that protect people from animals and those that protect animals from people. Examples of the former are the Dangerous Dogs Act and most municipal animal control by-laws. Examples of the latter are a provincial Animal Protection Act.

The idea that animals should be accorded protection by law has required a long evolution in human thought. Even today in Canada, animals are considered by law to be property and the anti-cruelty sections of the Criminal Code fall under "Wilfull and Forbidden Acts in Respect of Certain Property." There are still people who think they can do whatever they want to their own animals.

The first law forbidding cruelty to animals was adopted in 1641 by the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Included in "The Body of Liberties" was Liberty 92 forbidding cruelty ''towards any bruite Creature which are usuallie kept for man's use." This law was well ahead of its time. Not until 1822 did the next animal protection legislation appear when "Martins Act", an act "to prevent the cruel and improper Treatment of Cattle", was passed in England.'

The amount of protection animals receive by law, and the kinds of animals who are protected, varies greatly from one part of the country to another.

From my experience working for a humane society, I know that most cases that SPCA constables investigate are the result of simple ignorance or neglect. The situation can usually be improved with the cooperation of the owner. That doesn't mean that the animals will live in ideal circumstances, but their living conditions will be upgraded to meet the minimum standards required by law. For example, in most places the SPCA cannot force the owner of a chained, emotionally deprived dog to provide it with affection or even exercise. As long as the dog has a dog house, food and water, the legal requirements are met. In most laws, distress is defined in purely physical terms.

Abuse to farm animals can easily occur during their transportation. The federal Animal Disease and Protection Act and the provincial Motor Transport Act contain clauses governing the care and treatment of livestock being shipped, while the federal Humane Slaughter of Food Animals Act and the Provincial Meat Inspection Act Regulations cover slaughter.

The laws which protect animals in Canada have many shortcomings, but they provide a base from which to work. Laws should not be static any more than society is; they must change to reflect changing social morality. Sometime in the future, perhaps animals will be seen as something other than property, and their psychological well-being will be considered as well as their physical. For now, SPCAs need our support as they work to enforce existing animal welfare legislation while seeking improvements in the laws and raising public awareness of the needs of animals.

We can all do our part by reporting abuse to the local SPCA or police and supporting such organizations as the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies in their work to improve laws and their enforcement for the benefit of animals.

For more information on Canadian animal protection laws and amendments to the Criminal Code, visit the web site of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.

You can find most Canadian laws through the Access to Justice network.

© 2000 Elizabeth Gredley and animalINK
All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author. Permission is granted to reprint on a non profit web site provided this copyright notice and link to www.animalink.ab.ca remain intact.