Universities back new animal cruelty bill

08 Feb 12, Canwest News Service... After years of fighting federal bills to toughen animal cruelty laws, academia is, according to this story, putting its support behind a version that universities say would not pose a threat to legitimate animal research.

The House of Commons justice committee is wrapping up public hearings on the latest reincarnation, following a decade of several failed attempts to rewrite a 116-year-old law that made it a crime to abuse animals.

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the national umbrella group for post-secondary institutions, says it no longer fears that an anti-cruelty bill would make potential criminals out of researchers who are trying to conduct ethical animal-based testing.

The story goes on to say that universities and colleges had opposed previous attempts since 1999, partly because animals would cease to be considered property under the Criminal Code and they would have stronger, specific protection in their own right.
"Such changes could have led to unfounded allegations of misconduct against universities and university researchers, and frivolous and unwarranted private prosecutions under the Criminal Code by individuals and organizations for whom no use of animal research is acceptable," the association says in a recent written brief to the justice committee.

The legislative proposal, like the original bill introduced by the Liberal government in 1999, would increase criminal penalties for people who abuse animals.
If convicted, abusers could receive a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine, up from the current maximum punishment of six months in prison and a $2,000 fine.

Universities and colleges say the newest version is a "carefully tailored and reasoned solution" that avoids "serious damage to the reputations of universities and to individual faculty members who are conducting important animal-based testing and research in a highly ethical and responsible manner."

Update 'archaic' animal protection laws, critics demand

Canwest News Service - Canada’s existing animal cruelty laws are “shameful, inadequate and archaic,” a coalition of animal care workers charged Monday. 

“Canada has laws that fall behind even nations like the Philippines because we have laws that haven’t been updated since 1892,” Liberal MP Mark Holland said. 

Holland called a news conference to urge the government to adopt his private member’s bill that would toughen penalties for people who abuse animals. Flanked by animal care professionals, he drew attention to MacKenzie, a black lab who was the victim of gross negligence before being saved by animal care workers. 

“When she was taken in she was malnourished, her skin was infected and most of her hair had fallen out. Unfortunately there are too many cases like this in Canada,” Holland said, adding that more than 120,000 people have signed a petition pushing for more effective legislation against animal cruelty. 

He argued that while the government is talking about Bill C-2, which would get tough on crime against people, “we would say that it’s also time for the government to get tough on crime against animals. That we know is that crime against animals often leads to violent crimes against human beings  . . .  and if they’re serious about getting tough on crime, they have to get serious about this issue.” 

Diane Frank, with the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, agreed. She noted that “in one particular study, when they looked at people who had been prosecuted in animal abuse cases, they found animal abusers were involved 38 per cent of the time in violent crimes to people.” 

“Violence is part of the big picture, and sometimes the first indication of problems within a family is going to be violence to the animal.”