Federal justice minister Irwin Cotler has vowed to try once again to convince Parliament to modernize cruelty-to-animals legislation, a goal that eluded his three predecessors.
Three previous attempts to update the 19th century law failed when legislation bogged down in the Senate over concerns raised by aboriginals, researchers and in the beginning, farmers, that animal rights activists would use tougher anti-cruelty laws to try to shut down industries that kill animals as part of normal business practices.
Election calls in 1997, 2000 and 2004 killed all the bills, including cruelty-to-animals, that were before Parliament at the time.
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Last week, Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen pleaded with senators not to block the bill again when it reaches the Senate.
He said the compromise that has been worked out over years of debate has created legislation farmers can live with. Starting from scratch could produce a bill more heavily influenced by animal rights activists and less accommodating to farmers.
“We were very disappointed that the cruelty to animals bill did not make it in the last Parliament,” Friesen said during an October appearance before the Senate agriculture committee.
“It was not perfect for agriculture but it was much better than what it could have been for agriculture. We were hoping that bill was going to pass. I ask that you do whatever you can to make sure that that entire discussion on cruelty to animals is not reopened, because for agriculture, that bill could become worse than what we were looking at.”
Nova Scotia Conservative senator Donald Oliver, who was committee chair during the last Parliament when the bill was debated, said he had received mixed messages.
He said he had received letters from farmers worried about the bill and he noted that much of the debate centred on calls for an exemption for aboriginal trappers and hunters.
Friesen said he had no problem with the aboriginal lobby and proposals for exemption as long as they do not stall the bill.
He said farmers still have concerns with the wording of the last version of the bill, but it could be worse.
“We thought that we would be better off if that one passed than if we started right from the beginning,” he said. “We know that there are certain NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) that would like to write that bill in such a way that it would be much more serious.”
Cotler has not yet tabled new legislation in Parliament but he has said it will follow the model of the last version.
Criminal code provisions on animal cruelty penalties that still are in effect were approved by MPs in the 1890s.
