Montreal, June 16, 2014 – Today, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) released its 2014 provincial animal welfare legislation rankings. Quebec once again falls in second to last place, upholding Quebec’s reputation as being “the best province to be an animal abuser” for a third year in a row. However, the Montreal SPCA remains hopeful that with the appointment of Pierre Paradis as the new Ministre de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation, things are starting to look up for the animals of Quebec. To view the full report, please click here.
Top tier:
1. Manitoba
2. British Columbia
3. Ontario
4. Nova Scotia
Middle tier:
5. Newfoundland & Labrador
6. New Brunswick
7. Yukon
8. Alberta
9. Prince Edward Island
Bottom tier:
10. Saskatchewan
11. Northwest Territories
12. Quebec
13. Nunavut
Despite Quebec having made significant changes to its provincial animal welfare legislation and accompanying regulations from 2011 to 2013, there are still important improvements that need to be made in order to provide adequate protection to animals in this province. “We are encouraged by Minister Paradis’ commitment to rectifying Quebec’s reputation when it comes to animal protection” said Alanna Devine, Director of Animal Advocacy at the Montreal SPCA. “We believe that we are on the verge of seeing real changes for animals in this province, and we look forward to working with Minister Paradis and his team to help bring about these changes”.
Important amendments that need to be made to Quebec’s provincial animal welfare legislation include:
- Providing protection to animals of all species, including exotic animals and wildlife in captivity;
- Adopting standards of care for all animals (at the very least, adopting the Canadian Codes of Practice for the care and handling of farm animals as mandatory minimum standards);
- Including incarceration as a possible penalty for non-compliance.
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Media contact: Anita Kapuscinska, Media Relations Coordinator, Montreal SPCA, 514-226-3932, or anitak@spca.com.
About the Montreal SPCA
Founded in Montreal in 1869, we were the first humane society in Canada and our mission is to:
- protect animals against negligence, abuse, and exploitation;
- represent their interests and ensure their well-being;
- raise public awareness and help develop compassion for all living beings.
For many years, the Montreal SPCA has been working hard with the three levels of government (municipal, provincial and federal) to improve laws on animal protection. In 2013, our inspection service investigated 1,102 new complaints and conducted the inspection of 2,846 animals, all species combined. A total of 195 animals were seized as a result of their investigations and several criminal prosecutions or charges have been brought.
For more information about the Montreal SPCA, please visit our website at www.spca.com.
