February 12, 2008
Mark Holland and animal welfare groups call on the government to introduce effective animal cruelty legislation
(see a partial vid here - http://www.markholland.ca/index.html)
Accompanied by Mackenzie, a Labrador-cross and survivor of animal cruelty, Liberal MP Mark Holland and a progressive coalition of animal welfare groups, including, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS), the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), today called on the Harper government to introduce legislation identical to Holland’s private member’s bill C-373, that strengthens existing animal cruelty laws.
“We recognize that because my bill is a private member’s bill it has little chance of passing during the life of this minority Parliament,” said Holland. “But this Conservative government has the power to introduce their own effective animal cruelty bill - right now - and if the will was there, the bill could pass expediently through Parliament.”
The CFHS, CVMA and IFAW, have for years been actively fighting to update Canada’s animal cruelty laws that haven’t substantially changed since 1892. They are strong proponents for legislation, like Bill C-373, that not only increases penalties for animal cruelty offences, but closes the loopholes in the Criminal Code that make it difficult for enforcement agencies and the courts to convict animal abusers. Under the existing laws, conviction rates of animal cruelty complaints are only one quarter of 1%.
“When Mackenzie was taken in by the SPCA, she was malnourished; her skin was infected and most of her hair had fallen out,” said Shelagh MacDonald, Program Director with the CFHS. “A case like this is virtually impossible to convict because under the current laws the court has to prove that the owners’ neglect was ‘willful’.”
In the past year, a spate of high-profile animal abuse cases shocked Canadians by the savagery of the offences. “The link between acts of animal cruelty and violent acts perpetrated against people is well-documented,” said Dr. Diane Frank, a practicing veterinarian and CVMA President-Elect. “This government has made dealing with violent crime a cornerstone of their mandate, but has unfortunately completely ignored this fact. That is unacceptable.”
In a recent report put out by IFAW, entitled, Falling Behind: an International Comparison of Canada’s Animal Cruelty Legislation, the fact that Canada offers less protection for animals then many other countries is exposed. “Countries like Croatia, Malaysia and South Africa provide better protections for animals than Canada does. For example, these countries have restrictions on animals being trained to fight each other. Canada has none,” remarked IFAW Campaigner Kim Elmslie. “Canadians like to think that we live in a really progressive country, but in the case of our animal cruelty laws, we are over a hundred years behind the times.”
“Dealing with animal cruelty is not a partisan issue. I have heard from hundreds of thousands of Canadians from across this country, who are demanding that effective animal cruelty laws be passed by Parliament,” said Holland, “This government has the power to introduce effective animal cruelty legislation like bill C-373 now. It’s time that they follow their own mantra and ‘get tough on crime’ against animals.”
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For further information:
Office of Mark Holland, M.P., Ajax-Pickering
(613) 995-8614
