Brooks Animal Law Digest

London City Council has voted against a bylaw exemption for Reptilia Inc., which would have allowed them to keep exotic animals in small enclosures at a local mall. Council received approximately thirty submissions on the issue, including a petition signed by 265 people opposing the zoo. National animal law organization, Animal Justice, also testified against the proposal at London City Council, citing concerns over the zoo's treatment of animals.

Manitoba Agriculture has launched a forty-five-day consultation period on proposed amendments to the province’s Animal Care Regulation, which would recognize Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) accreditation standards of 2022 as the animal welfare standard for zoological facilities in the province, including the Assiniboine Park Zoo. The amendments to the regulation would also remove detailed reporting requirements for animal markets, including stockyards or animal auctions, and assembling stations, meaning any place where commercial animals are assembled for shipment. Manitobans can provide feedback on the proposed amendments through the Manitoba Regulatory Consultation Portal until April 3rd.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is proposing changes to the rules for recreational catch and release fishing. Currently, under the Ontario Fishery Regulations, 2007, anglers are required to immediately release any fish where the retention or possession is prohibited. The MNRF is proposing changes that would: (i) allow anglers to delay the release of a fish caught during the open season for that species long enough to photograph, measure and weigh; and (ii) require the immediate release of fish that are out of season, are species at risk, or are otherwise prohibited under the existing recreational fishing rules. The public consultation period is open until April 21st, 2023.

The Edmonton Police Service’s (EPS) Animal Cruelty Investigation Unit is seeking the public’s assistance to identify the person or people responsible for the latest in a series of animal abuse incidents. On February 6th, the EPS received a call from a concerned citizen who found several pigeons with their legs zip-tied and heads cut off near a walking path in the area of 82 Street and Crystallina Nera Drive. EPS have also been investigating several other animal cruelty incidents recently reported in the city, including a cat found with an arrow penetrating through the middle of his back and a dead dog found with his paws bound together.

A complaint from Animal Justice has triggered an investigation of alleged animal cruelty at Meadow Valley Meats, a small-scale, “humane” slaughterhouse in British Columbia (BC). On February 23rd, Animal Justice released hidden-camera footage that depicts workers beating animals in the face with various instruments, animals being improperly stunned, and other kinds of illegal abuse. The conditions also put worker safety at risk, as employees face terrified animals trying to escape the abuse. The BC Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food are currently reviewing the footage and will be conducting an investigation into the complaint.

The Edmonton Valley Zoo is being investigated by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) following a complaint made by Animal Justice. The complaint alleges that the zoo is failing to provide adequate care for its animals––particularly its lone elephant, Lucy––contrary to industry standards and the province’s animal protection laws. In their complaint, Animal Justice cites the Zoo’s public funding request for $10.9 million to the City of Edmonton in late 2022, which states that “a number of animal enclosures do not currently meet (CAZA) standards.” Animal Justice is urging CAZA to take the necessary corrective or disciplinary action, up to and including suspension or revoking the Zoo’s membership.

A petition calling for the end of the federal government’s ban on rescue dogs from over 100 countries has been tabled in parliament. Petition e-4122 was presented by Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, and it calls on the government to work with animal rights advocates and dog rescues to ensure that Canadians are kept safe without increasing the number of unadopted animals globally. It has been signed by over 20,000 people; about a month remains for the government to table an official response.

On February 13th, Member of Parliament Alistair MacGregor presented a petition in the House of Commons calling on the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to end the live export of horses for slaughter in Japan. The petition was initiated by Canadian icon Jann Arden and signed by more than 36,000 Canadians, making it the third largest Petition of this parliament. Now that the Petition has been submitted, the government has forty-five days to table an official response.

A federal e-petition has been launched, calling on the Government of Canada to ban the importation of farmed cephalopod products into Canada and prohibit the breeding or raising of cephalopods in captivity on Canadian territory. Companies are getting close to creating the conditions needed for industrial-scale breeding of cephalopods, like octopuses, and are working to develop ways to keep them in large-scale commercial farms. If successful, this petition would make Canada the first country to ban octopus farming and prevent these kinds of farms from developing in the country. The petition was initiated by the Montreal SPCA and authorized by Green Party leader Elizabeth May, with support from Animal Justice, Humane Canada, Last Chance for Animals, the BC SPCA, the Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals, the Vancouver Humane Society, and the Winnipeg Humane Society. It will remain open for signatures from Canadian residents until May 16th, 2023.

A new report by the United Nations (UN) concludes that environmental pollution––including from the intensive crop, and terrestrial and aquatic animal production sectors––contributes to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the emergence, transmission, and spread of superbugs. The report calls for a reduction in the use of antimicrobials in food animals by improving animal health through implementing biosafety, biosecurity, vaccination, and good animal husbandry programs. It concludes that AMR requires a holistic approach, such as “One Health,” which recognizes that the health of people, animals, plants, and the planet are closely linked and interdependent.

Volunteers from Turkey’s Animal Rights Federation have worked to rescue animals abandoned in apartment buildings or trapped under rubble following the disastrous earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria in early February. Representatives from animal rights organizations tried to dig out as many animals as they could and to help those who were injured. However, because most pet shops are either closed or have collapsed, serious concerns have been expressed surrounding the ability to continue providing food and other supplies for the animals.

On February 12th, a barn fire killed around 10,000 pigs at a farm in Sturgis, Saskatchewan. Firefighters arrived on the scene and chose to watch the kopje or “finishing” barn, which housed pigs of all ages, burn. Fire chief, Brad Secundiak, stated that it was hard decision to make: “They’re animals. It’s no different than a human being. You want to try and save a life no matter what type of life it is. It was difficult, but to risk human life over that was a choice I had to make.” The cause of the fire is still unknown.

According to recently released statistics from Animal Justice, Canada slaughtered 841 million animals in 2022. This number is up from a pandemic dip in 2021, and is the greatest number of animals slaughtered on record since Animal Justice began tracking government statistics in 2015. The organization says that most of the increased slaughter is due to increased demand for chicken meat as well as rapid human population growth. However, these figures only account for animals who were slaughtered and not those that died in transport or on farms; they also don’t include animals such as fish, lobster, horses, and deer.

Based on recommendations by the New Brunswick Committee on the Status of Species at Risk, the Government of New Brunswick has changed the classification of the Canada lynx from “endangered” to “species of concern” under the province’s Species at Risk Act. The government also changed the name of the “grey wolf” on its list of locally extinct species under the Act to the “eastern wolf.” While there haven’t been any wolves in New Brunswick for about one-hundred years, new DNA evidence prompted the name change. For the Canada lynx, the change in status under the Act will require crafting a new provincial management plan for the species.

London City Council has voted against a bylaw exemption for Reptilia Inc., which would have allowed them to keep exotic animals in small enclosures at a local mall. Council received approximately thirty submissions on the issue, including a petition signed by 265 people opposing the zoo. National animal law organization, Animal Justice, also testified against the proposal at London City Council, citing concerns over the zoo's treatment of animals.

Manitoba Agriculture has launched a forty-five-day consultation period on proposed amendments to the province’s Animal Care Regulation, which would recognize Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) accreditation standards of 2022 as the animal welfare standard for zoological facilities in the province, including the Assiniboine Park Zoo. The amendments to the regulation would also remove detailed reporting requirements for animal markets, including stockyards or animal auctions, and assembling stations, meaning any place where commercial animals are assembled for shipment. Manitobans can provide feedback on the proposed amendments through the Manitoba Regulatory Consultation Portal until April 3rd.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is proposing changes to the rules for recreational catch and release fishing. Currently, under the Ontario Fishery Regulations, 2007, anglers are required to immediately release any fish where the retention or possession is prohibited. The MNRF is proposing changes that would: (i) allow anglers to delay the release of a fish caught during the open season for that species long enough to photograph, measure and weigh; and (ii) require the immediate release of fish that are out of season, are species at risk, or are otherwise prohibited under the existing recreational fishing rules. The public consultation period is open until April 21st, 2023.

The Edmonton Police Service’s (EPS) Animal Cruelty Investigation Unit is seeking the public’s assistance to identify the person or people responsible for the latest in a series of animal abuse incidents. On February 6th, the EPS received a call from a concerned citizen who found several pigeons with their legs zip-tied and heads cut off near a walking path in the area of 82 Street and Crystallina Nera Drive. EPS have also been investigating several other animal cruelty incidents recently reported in the city, including a cat found with an arrow penetrating through the middle of his back and a dead dog found with his paws bound together.

Forty-six-year-old Ryan S. McAuley has been convicted of permitting unnecessary pain to an animal under section 445.1 of the Criminal Code. McAuley pleaded guilty to the animal cruelty charge after he was caught on video repeatedly punching and kicking a pitbull before hanging the animal up in the air by the collar and slamming the dog to the ground. The incident happened on May 31st, 2022, and the video was shared hundreds of times on social media. His sentence includes a two-year ban on owning or possessing an animal, and a $500 fine.

Judge Joseph De Filippis of the Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines sentenced William Knuff to a custodial sentence of six months and a twenty-year prohibition on owning pets. Knuff pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after he hanged his family dog from the rafters of a garage. Knuff claimed that he hanged the dog due to financial pressures, including the cost of caring for the sick animal. In making his decision, Judge De Filippis said “[t]here is no excuse for what the defendant did” and that “Canadians expect, and the law demands, that animals be properly cared for — even when problems develop.” According to reports, Knuff has been in protective pre-trial custody since the time of his arrest because the nature of the crime puts him at risk of retribution from other inmates.

The Edmonton Police Service Animal Cruelty Investigation Unit has charged forty-five-year-old Steven Kuzyk, and forty-three-year-old Sharon Vert, in relation to two incidents of animal cruelty that occurred in southeast Edmonton. The first incident occurred on December 26th, 2022, when patrol officers located the remains of a German Shepherd/Pitbull mix that had his paws bound together at Kittlitz Park. The second incident took place on February 7th, 2023, when police were called to a private residence after receiving reports of animal abuse involving another German Shepherd mix. Both accused are charged with failing to provide adequate care to an animal, willfully causing pain and suffering to an animal and causing death to an animal.

Investigators from the Montreal SPCA Investigations Office have arrested thirty-one-year-old Dany Deschamps, in relation to an incident of animal cruelty. The arrest arose from a video that was circulated on social and traditional media in November 2022 depicting an individual encouraging two dogs to repeatedly attack a tuskless wild boar who was confined in a pen, inflicting serious injury and suffering on the animal. Deschamps appeared at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse on February 15th and faces one count of willfully causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal under section 445.1(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, and one count of willfully neglecting to provide proper and sufficient care to an animal under section 446(1)(b). He has been released on several conditions, including “not owning, having custody or control of an animal, not living in a place where an animal is[,] and not being in the presence of an animal.”

Officers with the Kelowna Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are investigating a suspected pet poisoning after a dog became violently ill and suffered severe kidney damage after drinking from a water bowl at Mission Dog Park. According to a spokesperson for the Kelowna branch of the British Columbia SPCA: “Bystanders witnessed [a woman] going to each water dish and putting a liquid in it.”  The woman is described as being fifty to sixty years old, with brown or red hair. At the time of the incident, she was wearing a blue toque, a brown jacket and boots, and dark brown sunglasses. Anyone with information that could further the investigation is asked to contact Kelowna RCMP.

A complaint from Animal Justice has triggered an investigation of alleged animal cruelty at Meadow Valley Meats, a small-scale, “humane” slaughterhouse in British Columbia (BC). On February 23rd, Animal Justice released hidden-camera footage that depicts workers beating animals in the face with various instruments, animals being improperly stunned, and other kinds of illegal abuse. The conditions also put worker safety at risk, as employees face terrified animals trying to escape the abuse. The BC Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food are currently reviewing the footage and will be conducting an investigation into the complaint.

The Edmonton Valley Zoo is being investigated by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) following a complaint made by Animal Justice. The complaint alleges that the zoo is failing to provide adequate care for its animals––particularly its lone elephant, Lucy––contrary to industry standards and the province’s animal protection laws. In their complaint, Animal Justice cites the Zoo’s public funding request for $10.9 million to the City of Edmonton in late 2022, which states that “a number of animal enclosures do not currently meet (CAZA) standards.” Animal Justice is urging CAZA to take the necessary corrective or disciplinary action, up to and including suspension or revoking the Zoo’s membership.

A petition calling for the end of the federal government’s ban on rescue dogs from over 100 countries has been tabled in parliament. Petition e-4122 was presented by Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, and it calls on the government to work with animal rights advocates and dog rescues to ensure that Canadians are kept safe without increasing the number of unadopted animals globally. It has been signed by over 20,000 people; about a month remains for the government to table an official response.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has granted Steakholder Foods Ltd. approval for a patent on the physical manipulation of cultured muscle tissue in Canada. Steakholder Foods is a deep-tech food company that develops cultivated meat by using advanced 3D printing technologies. This patent, which has already been granted in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, covers systems and methods for applying external forces to muscle tissue, which is key to developing high-quality complex structured meat.

The Government of Alberta recently made the decision to split the Fish and Wildlife Division of Alberta Environment and Parks between three separate ministries, without public consultation or notice. Based on the decision, fishing and hunting allocations are now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forestry, Parks and Tourism; fish hatcheries management falls to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation; and fish and wildlife species at risk decisions are left with the Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas. The Alberta Wilderness Association has criticized the decision, citing concerns with the probable lack of coordination between each department and its effect on fish and wildlife populations and species protection.

On February 13th, Member of Parliament Alistair MacGregor presented a petition in the House of Commons calling on the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to end the live export of horses for slaughter in Japan. The petition was initiated by Canadian icon Jann Arden and signed by more than 36,000 Canadians, making it the third largest Petition of this parliament. Now that the Petition has been submitted, the government has forty-five days to table an official response.

A federal e-petition has been launched, calling on the Government of Canada to ban the importation of farmed cephalopod products into Canada and prohibit the breeding or raising of cephalopods in captivity on Canadian territory. Companies are getting close to creating the conditions needed for industrial-scale breeding of cephalopods, like octopuses, and are working to develop ways to keep them in large-scale commercial farms. If successful, this petition would make Canada the first country to ban octopus farming and prevent these kinds of farms from developing in the country. The petition was initiated by the Montreal SPCA and authorized by Green Party leader Elizabeth May, with support from Animal Justice, Humane Canada, Last Chance for Animals, the BC SPCA, the Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals, the Vancouver Humane Society, and the Winnipeg Humane Society. It will remain open for signatures from Canadian residents until May 16th, 2023.

A new report by the United Nations (UN) concludes that environmental pollution––including from the intensive crop, and terrestrial and aquatic animal production sectors––contributes to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the emergence, transmission, and spread of superbugs. The report calls for a reduction in the use of antimicrobials in food animals by improving animal health through implementing biosafety, biosecurity, vaccination, and good animal husbandry programs. It concludes that AMR requires a holistic approach, such as “One Health,” which recognizes that the health of people, animals, plants, and the planet are closely linked and interdependent.

Jane Kotzmann, “Sentience and Intrinsic Worth as a Pluralist Foundation for Fundamental Animal Rights” (2023) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 1-24.

Summary: To date, welfare protections have failed animals. In this context, many animal advocates and scholars have supported recognition of animal rights. Animal rights theory, however, remains underdeveloped. This article contributes to the development of animal rights theory and, in this respect, proposes the utilisation of sentience and intrinsic worth concepts as a pluralist foundation for prospective animal rights. Sentience and intrinsic worth as a conceptual underpinning for animal rights hold clear benefits in that (i) the concepts are already embedded in many legal systems, (ii) sentience would enable the development of animal rights to be built on the established interest theory of rights, and (iii) sentience directly links to the justification of rights as being primarily concerned with the prevention of pain and suffering.

In Nepal, a committee made up of nine government officials has been tasked with drafting a bill aimed at preventing animal cruelty, including knowingly depriving an animal of food, water, shelter and veterinary care or maliciously torturing them. The committee was formed in exercise of the powers conferred by section 27 of the country’s Animal Health and Livestock Services Act, 1999.

Spain’s parliament has passed a new animal rights bill that will overhaul the treatment of domesticated and wild animals in captivity, ban the sale of pets in shops, impose prison sentences on animal abusers, and turn zoos into wildlife recovery centres. The law defines domestic animals as dogs, cats, and other animals kept for companionship or for security purposes. Hunting dogs, which are used for hunting wild game, have been excluded from the definition, meaning that they are not protected under the new law. The exclusion has drawn criticism from animal rights groups and organizations, who argue that hunting dogs should also be protected under the law.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Park So-yeon, the former chief of Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), to two years in jail for euthanizing ninety-eight rescued dogs under her group's care. Park was accused of euthanizing the dogs due to a lack of space at her facility and to reduce the burden of medical costs needed to treat the animals.

Volunteers from Turkey’s Animal Rights Federation have worked to rescue animals abandoned in apartment buildings or trapped under rubble following the disastrous earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria in early February. Representatives from animal rights organizations tried to dig out as many animals as they could and to help those who were injured. However, because most pet shops are either closed or have collapsed, serious concerns have been expressed surrounding the ability to continue providing food and other supplies for the animals.

A new study conducted by a team of researchers in Brazil concluded that a 3D “bioprinted” skin could distinguish between irritants and non-irritants just as well as the real human skin when testing chemical products. 3D bioprinting allows researchers to replicate the cellular structure of the epidermis––the outermost layer of human skin. The researchers are hopeful that 3D bioprinted skin could one day replace animal testing for cosmetics completely.

On February 12th, a barn fire killed around 10,000 pigs at a farm in Sturgis, Saskatchewan. Firefighters arrived on the scene and chose to watch the kopje or “finishing” barn, which housed pigs of all ages, burn. Fire chief, Brad Secundiak, stated that it was hard decision to make: “They’re animals. It’s no different than a human being. You want to try and save a life no matter what type of life it is. It was difficult, but to risk human life over that was a choice I had to make.” The cause of the fire is still unknown.

According to recently released statistics from Animal Justice, Canada slaughtered 841 million animals in 2022. This number is up from a pandemic dip in 2021, and is the greatest number of animals slaughtered on record since Animal Justice began tracking government statistics in 2015. The organization says that most of the increased slaughter is due to increased demand for chicken meat as well as rapid human population growth. However, these figures only account for animals who were slaughtered and not those that died in transport or on farms; they also don’t include animals such as fish, lobster, horses, and deer.

The number of pets being abandoned at Scarborough Ontario’s Rouge National Urban Park has risen drastically in recent years, from just two in 2019 and 2020 to nine in 2021 and eighteen in 2022. Domestic animals abandoned in the park in recent years include dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, turtles, fish and other aquatic animals. Stu Johnson, a humane dog trapper with the volunteer group Team Chelsea, believes the increase in abandonment seems may be a consequence of the pandemic, noting that “[p]eople got pets through COVID and now they don't want to deal with the vet bills and that sort of thing. They figure the easiest way out is to just dump them." Abandoned pets threaten the natural species that live in the park because of competition over food and habitat, and can also spread parasites, diseases, viruses, and bacteria to wild animals.