Anglers and hunters protected in new cruelty to animals bill
Angler & Hunter Hotline – May 2005

For six long years, federal proposals for animal cruelty legislation have been looming over the heads of anglers, hunters, trappers, medical researchers and farmers. Finally, a reasonable proposal is working its way through the Senate. The O.F.A.H. is praising a new bill in the Senate, S-24, as a sensible approach that will protect us from potentially frivolous prosecutions from animal rights extremists.

Proposals for changes to animal cruelty laws were originally developed in response to some extreme and high profile cases of animal abuse. However, during several previous versions of this proposal, it blatantly missed its target to increase penalties against those examples of deplorable acts of animal abuse.

Instead, the legislation became so broad in its wording that, if introduced under the Criminal Code, the very act of harvesting a deer, or dispatching a hooked fish could have inspired precedent-setting legal attacks by well-funded animal rights organizations. The O.F.A.H. believes that is in fact what the antis wanted in the legislation all along. That threat did not sit well with the O.F.A.H., which mobilized our provincial and territorial affiliates, the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association and the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunitions Association. Together our groups fired back to demand explicit protection for animal use activities, including fishing, hunting and trapping.

This past February, Liberal Senator John Bryden introduced Bill S-24 to the Senate. This Bill is exactly what the O.F.A.H. requested of the government about six years ago; namely, increase penalties, but leave the rest of the Criminal Code provisions as they are.

"We have informed Senator Bryden that we support his Bill S-24, and we were able to get many other organizations to sign our letter of support as well," said Dr. Terry Quinney, O.F.A.H. Provincial Manager of Fish and Wildlife Services.

Bill S-24 has received second reading in the Senate and has been sent to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs for further study and debate. If Senator Bryden is successful in getting the bill through the Senate, we hope it will be sent to the House of Commons for final approval.

Greg Farrant, O.F.A.H. Government Relations Manager said, "The O.F.A.H. and our partners in the outdoor community will be working hard in support of Bill S-24 in the weeks ahead."