Stop Animal Cruelty BillC373

CFHS September 12, 2007

Action Alert from CFHS! Help Stop Animal Abuse and push for effective animal cruelty laws!

Help us Stop Animal Abuse and push for effective federal animal cruelty laws
We need your support to STOP the passage of Bill S-213 � an animal cruelty law that will keep Canada in the 19th century. This bill would not change any of the archaic and inadequate offences that allow animal abusers to escape prosecution.

Please ask our government and your Member of Parliament to support Bill C-373 that will fix the serious problems with the current law, but will NOT impact lawful uses of animals, such as farming, hunting, fishing, trapping and scientific research.

What can you do?
Want to do your part to help us achieve effective federal animal cruelty legislation?

WRITE TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND TO YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT. Go here for a sample letter. http://cfhs.ca/law/what_can_you_do/You can use it as is, but personalized letters are more effective. You don't need postage and you can send your letters to:
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
If you don't know the name of your MP, visit http://www.parl.gc.ca/

Go to http://www.queenwaldorf.com/ , print off the petition, sign it and get your friends and neighbours to sign it and send it in

Write a letter to the editor to your local newspaper in support of Bill C-373

UPDATE!! Jan/08

Latest news from CFHS!

As expected, the Senate passed Bill S-203 quickly in the fall of 07 so that it would go directly to the House of Commons Justice Committee. S-203 is identical to S-213, which died when parliament prorogued in late summer 2007. Senator Bryden reintroduced his bill, now named S-203, within days of parliament resuming in October. Following just a few hours of debate, without hearing from any witnesses, the Senate passed the bill on November 27th.

It is now awaiting consideration by the House Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Parliamentary process allows a reintroduced private member�s bill from the Senate to go directly to the last stage it had reached, if it is passed by the Senate within 60 sitting days. Prior to the prorogation in the summer, Bill S-213 had been on the agenda of the Justice Committee so it is now back on their agenda.

The CFHS has requested to appear before the committee when they debate the bill. The CFHS has testified before House and Senate committees on this issue several times over the past 8 years, most recently to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee in December, 2006.
http://cfhs.ca/law/latest_<WBR></WBR>news/

REALLY NEED those letters to MP's and Justice Committee (esp 1 below) asking to support C-373 and reject S-203(S-213) before the wrong Bill is passed!!
The Honourable Rob Nicholson
Minister of Justice
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

UPDATE Feb 8/08

http://cfhs.ca/

Putting the moc(k) in Democracy - from CFHS

By the time the next edition of our national newsletter, Animal Welfare in Focus, arrives on your doorstep, Canadians may be saddled with new but woefully inadequate Criminal Code animal cruelty legislation. Clear demands from the majority of citizens for new legislation that would move animal cruelty laws out of the 19th and into the 21st century have been ignored by our elected officials.

More than 85% of Canadians1 support legislation that would increase the likelihood of convicting those who abuse or are cruel to wild or stray animals. It�s worth noting this view is shared among 85% of rural Canadians and 87% of those who hunt or fish, too. Our government�s reaction? Ignore them.

A national petition with more than 111,000 signatures demanding improved animal cruelty legislation was presented to the federal government in the House of Commons. Our government�s reaction? Ignore them.

Tens of thousands of postcards were mailed to the Prime Minister by Canadians from across the country asking that the government enact legislation that will properly protect animals from cruelty. Our government�s reaction? Ignore them.

Canadians want animal cruelty legislation that will make a real difference while safeguarding heritage activities like fishing, hunting and farming. Time and again, Canadians have let our government know that real animal cruelty legislation to replace our 1892 law is beyond overdue.

When our elected officials ignore the express will of more than three-quarters of Canadians, they make a mockery of democracy. When they disregard a petition of more than 111,000 signatures, they make a mockery of democracy. When they blindly move to pass bad legislation to appease a handful of special interests, they mock you and me.

Please call your Member of Parliament2 and urge that he/she not support S-203. If the government passes S-203 into law, phone your MP anyway and give him/her an earful.

Then again, our elected officials have not listened to us up to this point so it�s highly unlikely they�ll start listening to us now. And that�s a real mockery of democracy.

1 SES National Poll, November 2006
2 To obtain your MP�s office telephone numbers, please dial toll-free,1-800-622-6232

Thank you to all who have supported and participated in our �Stop Bill S-203� postcard campaign. We have run out of the English version. Please send your postcards to Prime Minister Harper as soon as possible.

Please continue to call/write your Member of Parliament urging them not to support Bill S-203. To obtain your MP�s office telephone numbers, please dial toll-free, 1-800-622-6232.

Want the latest news on the animal cruelty amendments?
Click here to read the latest updates.

http://cfhs.ca/law/latest_<WBR></WBR>news/

Update! Mar 11/08

Canadian Federation of Humane Societies
www.cfhs.ca

Government prepares to pass outdated animal cruelty bill
that would not help starved Alberta horses

Ottawa, March 11, 2008 � The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) is outraged that inadequate federal animal cruelty legislation is poised to pass in the House of Commons over the coming weeks.

The tragic case last week-end of the 29 deceased horses and 101 malnourished horses found on an Alberta ranch is a prime example of the problem with Canada�s current animal cruelty law. Such cases of serious animal neglect are virtually impossible to successfully prosecute due to the ineffective and inadequate wording of the law. The term �wilful neglect� requires proof that the accused person actually intended to neglect their animals � something that is very hard to prove.

Today�s animal cruelty law dates back to 1892 and is ineffective and inadequate. �It�s unacceptable that an owner who is responsible for 29 animal deaths could walk away from such horrendous animal suffering because of a loophole in the law� says Shelagh MacDonald, Program Director of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.

Bill S-203 is a private member�s bill from the Senate that will amend the animal cruelty section of the Criminal Code. This bill only increases penalties for animal cruelty crimes, but it does not close the serious loopholes that allow so many animal abusers to escape prosecution. Bill S-203 passed the Senate last year and is approaching final passage through the House of Commons. Despite enormous opposition from Canadians, with 130,000 signatures on petitions, all parties in the House except the NDP are supporting this wholly inadequate bill. Many politicians have acknowledged that Bill S-203 doesn�t do enough but they say it�s better than nothing.

Ms. MacDonald continued: �It is a shocking contempt of our democratic process that this bill is poised to be enacted. It will do nothing to improve protection for abused animals in Canada.�

This Alberta case will likely be prosecuted under the Alberta Animal Protection Act, rather than the Criminal Code. Alberta is one of several provinces that have strong provincial animal protection acts so the Criminal Code is rarely used in those provinces. However if the accused were to leave the province, his criminal record would not go with him as provincial convictions are not recognized out of province.

For more information, please contact:
Christine Ch�n�
Communications Coordinator, CFHS
Tel: 613-224-8072 ext. 12
christinec@cfhs.ca