Province Proclaims Regulations to Support Animal Health and Protection Act

The new Animal Health and Protection Act and accompanying regulations were proclaimed on Wednesday, May 2, and provides improved measures to act on issues related to animal cruelty in the province.

“The new legislation strengthens penalties and provides laws which support a greater level of protection for animals,” said the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency. “We have responded to calls for stiffer penalties for those convicted of cruelty and neglect of animals, and we outline very clearly in the act and regulations what constitutes inappropriate and illegal treatment of animals.”

The welfare provisions included in the Animal Health and Protection Act will address issues related to level of fines for those who commit crimes against animals, enforcement, and the definition of distress, and follow extensive consultations and a review of animal welfare laws across the country. The new act provides for stiffer penalties for those individuals convicted under the act, including fines up to $50,000 and imprisonment of up to six months, or both, and a lifetime ban on animal ownership if sufficient to warrant it.

The RCMP and RNC have the ability to investigate any complaints that may arise, and can lay charges as appropriate. Under the new act, the Minister of Natural Resources has the authority to designate inspectors to support enforcement of the new regulations, and to respond to reports of animal neglect or cruelty. A program to support enforcement and training of inspectors is under development by the Department of Natural Resources Forestry and Agrifoods Agency. Details will be announced at a later date outlining the training program, and the process to identify and designate inspectors.

The Provincial Government will provide $50,000 to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to support development of an education and awareness campaign to promote proper care and treatment of animals and to provide information to encourage greater protection of animals.

“The SPCA is very pleased to see significant improvements in the province’s animal protection laws,” said Lynn Cadigan, Executive Director of SPCA Newfoundland and Labrador. “We look forward to working with government to produce a comprehensive public awareness strategy and support the development of a training program that ensures regulations are properly enforced.”

“It is important to recognize that strengthened laws are only one aspect of protecting animals,” said Minister Kennedy. “Animal ownership carries with it a personal responsibility, and it is our hope that greater awareness on the proper treatment of animals, and improved training for enforcement will support legislation and discourage the abuse and neglect of animals throughout the province.”

The new Animal Health and Protection Act and accompanying regulations are available at www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/a09-1.htm

- 30 -

Media contacts:

BACKGROUNDER
Highlights of the Animal Health and Protection Act

• Five existing live animal statutes (The Animal Protection Act, Dog Act, Heritage Animals Act, Livestock Act and Livestock Health Act) were reviewed and consolidated to form a comprehensive Animal Health and Protection Act.
• The new act provides for stiffer penalties for those individuals convicted under the act, including fines up to $50,000 and imprisonment of up to six months, or both, and a lifetime ban on animal ownership if sufficient to warrant it.
• Under the new act, corporations such as farms and pet stores can be banned from owning animals if convicted of animal abuse.
• National codes of practice will be used to define what is a normal and accepted practice for standard care of animals for agricultural and companion animals.
• The regulations developed to accompany the act further define what is and isn’t acceptable for tethering, such as the amount of time an animal can be tethered. The use of choke collars or choke chains, as well as the use of ropes or cords around an animal’s neck, if the animal is attached to a fixed object, is restricted under the act.
• Dogs must be safely tethered or penned at all times unless on a leash held by a person capable of restraining its movements, being used for lawful hunting or herding sheep, or other purposes that may be defined by regulation. A dog may be kept in a yard if it is safely fenced with no ability to escape.
• Surgical operations for the purpose of modifying the appearance of a pet or animal (docking of tails and the cropping of ears) shall be prohibited unless permitted in a code of practice, for example tail docking in lambs.
• The new act contains a general statement to legally protect animals from distress. Distress is defined as “the state of being in need of proper care, water, food or shelter, being sick, injured, abused or in pain or of suffering undue or unnecessary hardship, privation or neglect.” The previous definition did not include references to water or abuse.
• Animal owners must provide adequate care, food, water and shelter for their animal. If an inspector has reasonable grounds to believe an animal is in distress, the inspector must try to find the owner and obtain the owner’s cooperation to relieve the animal from distress. If the owner is not found or if the owner is unable or unwilling to relieve the animal of its distress, an inspector can seize the animal. Charges can be laid in such cases, where warranted.
• The act specifies that animals cannot be maintained or used for fighting purposes; animals cannot be transported in the back of an open vehicle unless securely attached; animals can not be confined in an enclosed space without adequate ventilation (for example, a vehicle with the windows closed for an extended period of time), and animals cannot be transported in the trunk of a vehicle.
• Veterinarians will now be required to report suspected cases of abuse to the Chief Veterinary Officer and be legally protected from recourse for doing so, unless the information was provided falsely or maliciously.
• Under the new act antibiotics for animals can now only be sold by veterinary prescription, and there are specific animal diseases that must be reported to the Chief Veterinary Officer.

2012 05 03                              9:15 a.m.