Provincial Consultations on Animal Welfare

Here is a letter that Ruff-Spots has sent to the Office of the Chief Veterinarary Officer of the Province as part of the consultation process for the new live animal statutes that are being developed.

More information about this process can be found here:
Provincial Consultation on Live Animal Statutes

Other key amendments to the new regulation, which will be called the Animal Health and Protection Act, encouraged by the SPCA, can be found in this news release:

SPCA News Release March 23, 2009

We encourage all residents of Newfoundland and Labrador who are interested in animal welfare to write a letter or an e-mail to the OCVO.
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Dear Dr. Whitney,

I am writing as President of Ruff-Spots Animal Welfare Foundation, a registered charitable foundation in Newfoundland and Labrador that was founded in 2003. We are an organization consisting entirely of volunteers, and our main mandate is to help improve the quality of life and adoptability of rescue/shelter animals by funding their spaying and neutering procedures. Additionally, Ruff-Spots aims to stimulate dialogue, through our efforts and examples, which will educate the general public about rescue/shelter animals, animal rescue organizations and shelters, the importance of spaying and neutering pets, and animal welfare issues in general. Since our inception, we have fundraised and provided funding to 10 animal shelters throughout the province to spay or neuter 232 adoptable animals. With the cooperation of several local veterinary practices, we have also administered a low-income spay/neuter assistance program (SNAP-NL), which has provided funding for the spay/neuter procedures of 90 pets of low-income families.

It is in our capacity as an organization concerned with all issues of animal welfare in Newfoundland and Labrador that I now send you our comments about the current live animal statutes in the province.

Firstly, we commend the Province for the realization that the existing regulations and Acts dealing with animal welfare are mostly out-dated and inadequate. There are three areas, in particular, in which we hope the new Animal Health and Protection Act will provide further protection against cruelty for animals in this province:

1. Strengthening/re-defining “standards of care” for animals.

Currently, the definition of “mistreatment” of animals in the Act is inadequate. We feel that failure to provide appropriate standards of care for any animal should be considered mistreatment and be a provincial offence prosecutable by law. We would like to point out that the recently-enacted Animal Welfare Act in Ontario has clearly outlined “standards of care” for all animals, and has made special provisions of care for dogs that live outdoors, as well as captive wildlife and primates.

Excerpt from Ontario Regulation 60/09 (under the OSPCA Act):

Standards of care for dogs that live outdoors
3. (1) Every dog that lives primarily outdoors must be provided with a structurally sound enclosure for its use at all times.
(2) The enclosure must be weather-proofed and insulated.
(3) The size and design of the enclosure must be adequate and appropriate for the dog.
(4) A chain, rope or similar restraining device used to tether a dog that lives primarily outdoors,
(a) must be at least three metres long;
(b) must allow the dog to move safely and unrestricted (except by its length); and
(c) must allow the dog to have access to adequate and appropriate water and shelter.
As you know, the culture of keeping the “outdoor dog” is alive and well in Newfoundland. We believe that adopting the standard or care definitions from the Ontario legislation would be relevant in this province.

We further believe that more precise definitions of standards of care and mistreatment will provide the legal “teeth” to deal with animal breeding operations, i.e., “puppy mills” which provide inadequate conditions for their animals. Although this province has not yet had major issues with puppy mills, it is likely that as regulations and fines increase in other provinces, operators will look to set up their businesses in provinces with less stringent regulations or enforcement. We hope that our new Act would discourage and prevent this.

2. Increasing Penalties/Fines:

The current penalties for convicted offenses under the current Act are inadequate and should be increased.

Again, we would like to call your attention to the new legislation in Ontario, which has increased potential penalties for offences of animal cruelty, including up to 2 years jail time, fines of up to $60,000, and a lifetime ban on animal ownership.

We feel that similar penalties should be provided for in the new Animal Health and Protection Act.

3. Prohibitions on Fighting:

While we have been very fortunate that dog or other animal fighting has not been an enterprise in Newfoundland and Labrador, we feel that specific provisions should be made in the new legislation that prohibit the training or permitting of animals to fight other animals, as well as the owning or possessing of equipment or structures used in animal fighting.

There a several other issues related to animal welfare in Newfoundland and Labrador that I would like to take the opportunity to comment on.

Firstly, we would like to encourage the Province to support the training of additional Special Constables under the new Animal Health and Protection Act. It is our impression that the number of Special Constables is inadequate throughout the province, particularly in regions off the Avalon Peninsula.

Secondly, we wish to encourage further cooperation with municipal authorities, such that in the event that the new Provincial Act and a municipal by-law are in conflict, the one which would provide the most protection for the animal would take precedent.

Finally, we wish to have it known that our group in no way support breed-specific legislation in terms of the banning of particular dog breeds that are perceived as “dangerous”. There is absolutely no scientific support for banning particular dog breeds, and in some areas where such laws have been enacted, they have been found prejudicial, ineffective, and have been rescinded. Any animal control legislation enacted at the provincial or municipal level to protect the public should not be permitted to include breed-specific provisions. Further to this point, we feel that the ban on the importation of the Labrador Husky to the island, as provided in the current Dog Act, should be removed under the new Animal Health and Protection Act.

On behalf of the volunteers of Ruff-Spots Animal Welfare Foundation, I thank-you for the opportunity to comment on the review of Newfoundland and Labrador’s live animal statutes. We wish you the best of luck in the consultation process and are happy to be of any assistance at anytime.

Sincerely,

Donna Short
President,
Ruff-Spots Animal Welfare Foundation Inc.