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Two dogs are tied by their leashes to a tree and then beaten to death with a baseball bat. The reason? Their owner was at risk of being evicted from his home because of complaints about barking.
What most Canadians would see as an open and shut case of causing unnecessary cruelty to animals, instead, has been stayed. A veterinarian's testimony that the dogs died “almost instantly” caused a judge to rule the killings were not against the law.
But he did so with great reluctance. Edmonton judge Clayton Spence was quoted as saying, “It certainly is not acceptable to me and many other people in this country to kill a dog in the way I have heard… but there is no law.” A stay means the charges can be reactivated within a year, although this is rare.
CFHS member society, the Edmonton SPCA, reacted with the frustration that is too often the experience of investigators dealing with cases of animal abuse under the Cruelty to Animals Section of the Criminal Code of Canada. Executive Director Roger Simms said, “It does not take a veterinary opinion to determine the terror, pain, confusion and agony those dogs must have suffered.”
The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies has made repeated submissions to the federal Department of Justice in the past 15 years seeking reform of the Criminal Code. The Cruelty to Animals Sections of the Code were written more than 100 years ago, with minor modifications in 1954. Animals are regarded as property, and offences involving animals are largely treated as property offences.
Prevention of cruelty to animals is a basic moral value, founded on the concept that living beings should be protected from violence. The Criminal Code educates the public about humane values. It also acts as a deterrent to crime.
In addition, studies have shown there is a high correlation between animal abuse and violence to children and other humans among convicted murderers. CFHS and its member societies have sponsored seminars on this link, bringing together social workers, enforcement officers, government officials and others involved in human and animal violence.
In September, Justice Canada released a public discussion paper, Crimes Against Animals, which poses a number of questions about possible amendments. CFHS will be submitting a detailed response. Among the reforms we are urging the federal government to implement are:
