Ontario's PC's want to legalize animal abuse!

[BlazingDriver]

A Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario bill before the legislature would gut animal cruelty laws and remove prohibitions on causing cruelty and distress to animals, says Lawyers for Animal Welfare (LAW), a Toronto based Canadian registered charity.

"The PC Party seeks to strike down Ontario laws that prevent cruelty to and abuse of animals. This would have a significant impact on animal law and treatment in the province of Ontario," said Nicholas dePencier Wright, Executive Director of LAW.

Bill 37 – An Act to Amend the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act was introduced by Ontario PC Party MPP Jack MacLaren of Carleton--Mississippi Mills and can be read online here: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bil..._detail_the_bi

The Bill passed first reading on February 23, 2012 and proposes a number of amendments to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (the “OSPCAA” or “Act”). The following are the most pertinent proposed changes:

• The Bill seeks to repeal a number of definitions, including “distress.” The Bill also proposes to repeal Section 11.1, which outlines the standards of care that animal owners must meet. In addition, the Bill seeks to repeal Section 11.2, which prohibits causing distress to an animal or permitting distress to an animal. The repeal of these sections would effectively eliminate the prohibition against animal cruelty and eliminate an owner’s obligations to care for thier animal and meet prescribed standards of care.Moreover, the proposed OSPCAA would lack any standards of care by which to determine: (a) whether an animal has received adequate care; and (b) whether cruelty has occurred.

• The Bill would repeal the current prohibition against animal fighting.

• Currently, under the Act, inspectors of the OSPCA are granted police powers, such as the right to: (a) search the premises where an animal is held; (b) seize animals or other property; (c) inspect animals; (d) supply necessities to neglected animals. One other particularly important provision is the right of OSPCA inspectors to enter any place—other than a dwelling—without a warrant where the inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that an animal is in immediate distress. The Bill proposes to repeal all provisions regarding the enforcement of the Act. It would eliminate all references to inspectors and agents of the OSPCA, including the provisions that outline their powers.

• The Bill would repeal the current obligation of veterinarians to report abuse or neglect of animals where they have a reasonable grounds to believe that such abuse or neglect has occurred.

• Under the Act, if a justice of the peace or a provincial judge has ordered the OSPCA to take custody of an animal, and in other prescribed circumstances, the OSPCA may bill the owner of the animal for all expenses associated with keeping the animal, such as food and veterinary treatment. The Bill proposes to repeal this section, revoking the OSPCA’s right to recover the costs it spent in tending the animal. The Bill effectively frees the owner of a seized animal from any liability associated with the OSPCA’s care of such animal.

• The Bill proposes to repeal all provisions of the Act that set out offences and the penalties associated with such offenses.

• The Bill proposes to add sections to the Act regarding the sale of animals held by the OSPCA if the owner of the animal cannot be found.

If enacted, the Bill would effectively strip the Act of all its substance and power. As a result, the Criminal Code would become the governing statute regarding cruelty to animals, unless or until a new provincial law governing the treatment of animals was enacted. Critiques of the Criminal Code and its cruelty to animals provisions abound, but for the sake of brevity, shall not be reproduced here. However, the thrust of the critiques is that the structure of the Criminal Code, including its higher burden of proof, renders enforcement of the cruelty to animals provisions virtually impossible. As a result, animal abuse and neglect go undetected and/or unpunished.

Please call or write to you MPP and tell him/her how you feel about this idea! We CANNOT allow them to think that this type of thinking is in any way acceptable in a civilized society!


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[BlazingDriver]

Good news! Bill 37 was withdrawn today.
Thanks to anyone who called or e-mailed their MPP.



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[Tabby40]

That is great news!!

[Mochajava]

Thank god! I was beginning to feel like we were going back a step. Actually, I've felt like that a lot lately. I really hope that all of this makes people think twice before they decide to vote for the PC party.

Good news! Bill 37 was withdrawn today.
Thanks to anyone who called or e-mailed their MPP.



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[BlazingDriver]

Oops, double post, please see below!

[BlazingDriver]

IT'S BACK!

When Bill 37 was withdrawn we thought that the provincial MPP's had come to their senses but we were wrong. A slightly watered down version of the bill is being re-introduced on Monday. This legislation would take away what little insignificant protection that farm animals currently have. They suffer so horribly already, can we as a civilized society really allow things to get worse? Are the profits of corporations really more important than compassion? Please, please sign the petition and share it!

http://www.change.org/petitions/prem...hts-protection

Better yet, e-mail McGuinty, Hudak, Horwath and all PC MPP's. Tell them what they are doing is WRONG!


This?


Or this?


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[FallenPixels]

The bill is riddled with problems, but there are major issues in the original bill too - I went to a hearing on the original bill a few years ago and the misuse of OSPCA powers is insane, so I see this as a misguided attempt to try and reduce the min sentence for those where its clear the OSPCA is pushing their agenda on ppl who would otherwise not be punished

As far as the farm animals, that is their vote base - they are doing it to keep ot given speculation that McGuinty will call another costly election this year

I do fully support the part of the Bill that would reduce the warantless search by OSPCA officers, except in extreme cases - they should not have greater powers than our police do when a person is at risk given the training police have and the 1 week of online training an OSPCA officer has.

As far as OSPCA costs - they overinflate them and it is an issue. A major case that caused this is the OSPCA raided a horse farm where the person took injured horses to stop them being shot etc. Many were in bad condition but he had job got them. This person happened to own a feed store that was in competition with the OSPCA officer for that area. Once news spread that he abused animals, ppl would not shop at his pet store or feed store and he went out of business. The OSPCA finally finished their long investigation and appeal and decided that he was doing the best for the animals, but he would have to pay an insane amount for the animals care, which he could not afford since they had bankrupted him in the local OSPCA's smear campaign. So they kept the horses and he tried to commit suicide.

This is not an agency I will support regardless of my animal welfare background and I do support a move away from the OSPCA in favour of the police investigating and overseeing them