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Tuesday, April 11, 2000
Ottawa – The Canadian Alliance’s filibuster against animal cruelty legislation will only increase the perception that the party has failed to change in spite of new leadership, two leading animal welfare groups said today.The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said the Alliance’s move was not aimed at furthering the debate, but at stalling legislation desired by a majority of Canadians. The Alliance opposes moving Canada’s animal cruelty legislation, drafted in 1892, into the 21st Century.
“The Alliance’s opposition to this bill has been a real eye-opener for me,” IFAW National Director Dr. Rick Smith said. “They have neglected every opportunity for serious law-making, serious discussion about the issue of animal cruelty, in favour of haranguing the government over an increasingly bizarre assortment of unrelated complaints.”
“Animal cruelty is a genuine concern for many Canadians,” CFHS Executive Director Bob Van Tongerloo said. “For a party that stakes its claim on 'law & order' issues, I’m shocked that the Alliance has taken such a backwards stand on animal cruelty.”
Alliance debate on bill C-15B has included:
“This is an important law,” Dr. Smith said. “I’m disappointed some MPs spent so little time on the real issues: the deliberate torture and brutal killing of pets and other animals.”
“Alliance MPs continue to make the same misinformed and irrational arguments against C-15B. Contrary to their claims, the Bill does not remove legal defences for animal use industries, and does not open the door to frivolous prosecutions. In fact, Bill C-15B makes it more difficult for individuals to bring private prosecutions for animal cruelty,” Mr. Van Tongerloo said.
For more information, please contact:
Tanya O’Callaghan, Communications Coordinator
T: (613) 224-8072
tanyao@cfhs.ca
or
Shelagh MacDonald, Program Director
T: (613) 224-8072
shelaghm@cfhs.ca
