If the Liberals are re-elected, they have promised to answer farmer fears that cruelty to animal legislation could be used to challenge normal animal management.
A government proposal in the last Parliament to amend the Criminal Code led livestock and poultry farmers to worry that tougher rules could be used by animal rights activists against them.
On Oct. 20, the last parliamentary day before the election call and the dissolution of Parliament, the government offered assurances.
Foreign affairs minister John Manley, filling in for the justice minister, used a friendly and planned Liberal backbench question to reassure farmers. He said the intent of the bill had been misunderstood by some farm groups.
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“These amendments make no changes to the way the law applies to currently lawful activities involving animals,” he said. “In fact, to make that clear, the minister of justice would support changes to the bill that clarify the law and provide assurances that humane practices will not be affected.”
It is a message that will be promoted in rural ridings.
Rural Ontario Liberal backbencher Ian Murray had posed the set-up question, arguing that existing vague wording could lead to “prosecution for such normal activities as farming and hunting.”
The proposed legislation died when the election was called.
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, along with other farm groups, had considered the existing wording a potential threat and were preparing to appeal for amendments.
If the Liberals return to government, they will bring in a new bill with a specific exemption for normal farm practices.
Manley said the intent is to “recognize cruelty to animals as a form of violence and to encourage the justice system to treat it seriously.”
