Brooks Animal Law Digest

After a petition with nearly 22,000 signatures was submitted to the National Assembly of Quebec, the Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne, has indicated by letter that he is working to draft legislation that would ban cosmetic surgeries for companion animals. Examples of popular cosmetic surgeries include devocalization, tail docking, declawing, and ear cropping. The only exception will be for procedures deemed medically necessary by a veterinarian. The legislation will propose to amend the province’s Animal Welfare and Safety Act. The petition was started by a Montreal-based health technician named Alexandra Yaksich, who was motivated by seeing the declawing of cats and young kittens in her work at veterinary clinics. Read more here.

The City of Edmonton has approved a budget of $50.3 million for the Edmonton Valley Zoo to winterize certain enclosures to allow for year-round public visitation. City management supervisor for arts, history, and experience, Tannia Franke, said that the renovations will help bring the zoo up to industry standards, especially considering that some areas of the zoo were built in 1959 and are deteriorating. Notably, famed resident of the zoo, Lucy the elephant, will not receive any renovations to her enclosure despite allegations that her enclosure is not suitable to house Lucy through harsh Alberta winters. Read more here.

The Honourable Murray Sinclair first introduced the Jane Goodall Act in November 2020 during the 43rd Parliament, and delivered a speech on the bill’s legal proposals. The legislation did not proceed past second reading in the Senate due to the 2021 federal election. With former Senator Sinclair’s retirement, and his and Dr. Jane Goodall’s blessing, Senator Marty Klyne has sponsored the Jane Goodall Act, now re-introduced as Bill S-241. As outlined in the text of Senator Klyne’s speech, Bill S-241 contains new legal protections for over 800 species of captive non-domesticated animals, including big cats, bears, wolves, hyenas, pinnipeds (marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and walruses), certain primates, and dangerous reptiles, including crocodilians, giant constrictors, and venomous snakes. The new bill also includes a legislative framework to exempt some “animal care organizations” from restrictions (e.g. sanctuaries, rescue centres, and some zoos); a call in the preamble for measures to further address the unsustainable global wildlife trade through regulation; and an observation in the preamble that Ontario may grant civil standing to Canada’s last captive orca, Kiska, allowing for orders in her best interests by her own right. Like the original legislation, Bill S-241 would lead to a national phase out of elephant captivity; allow for the continuation of great ape conservation and science programs; and establish limited legal standing for affected species in sentencing for captivity offences, such as illegal breeding or use in performance for entertainment, allowing for the relocation of animals with costs. It also sets up a framework for governments to extend the bill's legal protections to additional wild species by executive order, through what is being called by some the "Noah Clause." As with Canada’s 2019 whale and dolphin captivity laws, the bill essentially prohibits new captivity of affected species, subject to the legislation’s licensing framework. Notably, Bill S-241 has received support from five Canadian zoos: the Toronto Zoo, the Calgary Zoo, the Granby Zoo, Assiniboine Park Zoo, and the Montreal Biodome. The bill is also broadly supported by Canadian animal advocacy organizations, including the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, Humane Canada, Animal Justice, World Animal Protection Canada, Humane Society International/Canada, and Zoocheck Canada. You can watch Senator Klyne’s speech here.

Operators of Prince Edward Island’s dairy farm Nobra Holsteins have pled guilty to charges under the Fisheries Act for a 2020 incident of polluting waters resulting in a large-scale fish kill. Court documents indicate that Nobra Holsteins had been experimenting with new manure spreading equipment in June 2020 when a hose disconnected and deposited liquid manure into a nearby stream for three hours. The spill killed over 600 brook trout and closed the nearby pond for swimming for the entire summer. The operators pled guilty to “unlawfully depositing, or permitting the deposit of, a deleterious substance in water frequented by fish” under the Fisheries Act. Justice Nancy Orr accepted the guilty plea as well as joint submission on sentencing from the prosecutor and defence. Nobra Holsteins have two years to pay a $50,000 fine, and they have until May 1st, 2022 to develop and implement a manure spill response and prevention plan. Read more here.

Jessica Eisen, “Of Linchpins and Bedrock: Hope, Despair, and Pragmatism in Animal Law” University of Toronto Law Journal.

Abstract: The field of animal law is ubiquitously characterized as being split between proponents of ‘animal rights’ and ‘animal welfare.’ While rights advocates seek to end the legal classification of animals as ‘property’ (or pursue the related goal of establishing animals as legal ‘persons’), welfarists aim to improve animal lives within the property paradigm. The common wisdom that all legal approaches to animals are fundamentally split between rights and welfarism has worked to ossify categories of analysis and prevent more accurate and productive accounts of what truly divides and unites theorists within this increasingly diverse field. In place of this traditional assumption that one must be simply ‘for’ or ‘against’ the abolition of property status, I propose an alternative pair of axes around which we might more productively organize existing and future approaches to animal law. First, what do these various approaches take to be the linchpin of animals’ exploitation – the thing that, though central to the system, is changeable, such that, if changed, the whole system might change with it? Second, what do these approaches take to constitute the unchangeable bedrock of existing systems of animal exploitation – things that reform efforts must take as inevitable, for better or for worse? Changing our lens to focus on bedrock and linchpins invites more nuanced debate respecting the unique constellations of hope, despair, and pragmatism that in fact animate so much animal law scholarship. In a field characterized by transformative ambitions, the proposed analysis of linchpins and bedrock focuses our attention on differing accounts of change – what must change and what cannot.

During the fifth session of the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA), a resolution was passed that recognized the importance of animal welfare in promoting the “One Health” approach to the Sustainable Development Goals, and that animal health is connected to human health and wellbeing. This “Resolution on the Nexus between Animal Welfare, Environment and Sustainable Development” calls on the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Executive Director to prepare a report exploring the link between animal welfare and the environment. Read the Resolution here.

After a petition with nearly 22,000 signatures was submitted to the National Assembly of Quebec, the Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne, has indicated by letter that he is working to draft legislation that would ban cosmetic surgeries for companion animals. Examples of popular cosmetic surgeries include devocalization, tail docking, declawing, and ear cropping. The only exception will be for procedures deemed medically necessary by a veterinarian. The legislation will propose to amend the province’s Animal Welfare and Safety Act. The petition was started by a Montreal-based health technician named Alexandra Yaksich, who was motivated by seeing the declawing of cats and young kittens in her work at veterinary clinics. Read more here.

The City of Edmonton has approved a budget of $50.3 million for the Edmonton Valley Zoo to winterize certain enclosures to allow for year-round public visitation. City management supervisor for arts, history, and experience, Tannia Franke, said that the renovations will help bring the zoo up to industry standards, especially considering that some areas of the zoo were built in 1959 and are deteriorating. Notably, famed resident of the zoo, Lucy the elephant, will not receive any renovations to her enclosure despite allegations that her enclosure is not suitable to house Lucy through harsh Alberta winters. Read more here.

The Honourable Murray Sinclair first introduced the Jane Goodall Act in November 2020 during the 43rd Parliament, and delivered a speech on the bill’s legal proposals. The legislation did not proceed past second reading in the Senate due to the 2021 federal election. With former Senator Sinclair’s retirement, and his and Dr. Jane Goodall’s blessing, Senator Marty Klyne has sponsored the Jane Goodall Act, now re-introduced as Bill S-241. As outlined in the text of Senator Klyne’s speech, Bill S-241 contains new legal protections for over 800 species of captive non-domesticated animals, including big cats, bears, wolves, hyenas, pinnipeds (marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and walruses), certain primates, and dangerous reptiles, including crocodilians, giant constrictors, and venomous snakes. The new bill also includes a legislative framework to exempt some “animal care organizations” from restrictions (e.g. sanctuaries, rescue centres, and some zoos); a call in the preamble for measures to further address the unsustainable global wildlife trade through regulation; and an observation in the preamble that Ontario may grant civil standing to Canada’s last captive orca, Kiska, allowing for orders in her best interests by her own right. Like the original legislation, Bill S-241 would lead to a national phase out of elephant captivity; allow for the continuation of great ape conservation and science programs; and establish limited legal standing for affected species in sentencing for captivity offences, such as illegal breeding or use in performance for entertainment, allowing for the relocation of animals with costs. It also sets up a framework for governments to extend the bill's legal protections to additional wild species by executive order, through what is being called by some the "Noah Clause." As with Canada’s 2019 whale and dolphin captivity laws, the bill essentially prohibits new captivity of affected species, subject to the legislation’s licensing framework. Notably, Bill S-241 has received support from five Canadian zoos: the Toronto Zoo, the Calgary Zoo, the Granby Zoo, Assiniboine Park Zoo, and the Montreal Biodome. The bill is also broadly supported by Canadian animal advocacy organizations, including the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, Humane Canada, Animal Justice, World Animal Protection Canada, Humane Society International/Canada, and Zoocheck Canada. You can watch Senator Klyne’s speech here.

Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is proposing an amendment to the Greenbelt Act, 2005. The Greenbelt is a protected half-circle of forest circling the Greater Toronto Area from approximately Coburg to Niagara Falls, and includes the Bruce Trail from Niagara to Tobermory (see this map). The proposed amendment seeks to add thirteen new Urban River Valley Areas to the Greenbelt, which consist of different creeks and rivers already connected to the Greenbelt, Greenbelt Plan, or Great Lakes. The Ministry now seeks consultation with the municipalities that would be affected by the proposed Urban River Valley Areas, including Hamilton, Clarington, Darlington, Oshawa, Oakville, and Toronto. Ontario’s Greenbelt has been celebrated for protecting Ontario’s wild animal population and maintaining biodiversity in ecosystems. The consultation closes April 23rd 2022. Read the proposed amendment and submit a comment here.

British Columbia’s Victoria City Council has banned the sale of cats, dogs, and rabbits in pet stores in an “Animal Responsibility Amendment Bylaw.” This is a largely symbolic gesture, as the City only has one pet store, and the store does not sell cats, dogs, or rabbits. Council members emphasized the City’s intention to cut down on impulse buying of companion animals. The bylaw will not affect animals being adopted through recognized adoption and rescue agencies that promote responsible pet ownership, and it does not apply to online sales of these animals or breeder sales. The City will urge other municipalities to adopt similar bylaws. Read more here.

The British Columbia Supreme Court has denied the request from a coalition of fur farmers for an injunction on the provincial phase-out of mink farming by 2025. The phase-out demands ending all live mink farms by 2023 and that all remaining pelts be sold by 2025. Justice Carol Ross found that deference must be given to the health authorities in their attempt to control the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with the real concern of COVID-19 jumping from humans to mink and other animals, the disease jumping from mink to human workers, and the risks of the virus mutating and creating “variants of concern.” There will be no interim injunction or stay on enforcing the ban while the courts deal with the constitutional question raised by the coalition’s petition, namely their argument that the ban is ultra vires the powers of the province. This decision will result in the fur farmers missing their March breeding season for the mink. Read more here.

For their role in direct action on Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford in April 2019, British Columbia, activists Amy Soranno, Nick Schafer, Roy Sasano, and Geoff Regier - known as The Excelsior 4 - are facing twenty-one combined criminal charges. The pre-trial hearings will take place March 28th to April 8th, and the trial is scheduled for June 27th to July 21st. Ahead of the pre-trial hearings on March 28th, Soranno made a public statement which included calling attention to their prosecution while Excelsior continues to face no legal consequences for alleged animal cruelty, labeling this a “mockery of justice.” Read more here and visit #TheExcelsior4 website here.

Operators of Prince Edward Island’s dairy farm Nobra Holsteins have pled guilty to charges under the Fisheries Act for a 2020 incident of polluting waters resulting in a large-scale fish kill. Court documents indicate that Nobra Holsteins had been experimenting with new manure spreading equipment in June 2020 when a hose disconnected and deposited liquid manure into a nearby stream for three hours. The spill killed over 600 brook trout and closed the nearby pond for swimming for the entire summer. The operators pled guilty to “unlawfully depositing, or permitting the deposit of, a deleterious substance in water frequented by fish” under the Fisheries Act. Justice Nancy Orr accepted the guilty plea as well as joint submission on sentencing from the prosecutor and defence. Nobra Holsteins have two years to pay a $50,000 fine, and they have until May 1st, 2022 to develop and implement a manure spill response and prevention plan. Read more here.

Criminal proceedings against Marineland continue on Criminal Code charges relating to dolphin shows during the summer and fall of 2021. Aquatic animal shows for entertainment are illegal under Canada’s Criminal Code; however, Marineland has previously indicated that the shows were for educational purposes, not for entertainment. After Marineland’s first appearance on February 14th, 2022, lawyer Scott Fenton received initial disclosure from police, and proceeded to request further disclosure from the prosecutor (a normal exchange in criminal proceedings). The matter is set to return for another update on April 20th, 2022. Read more here.

Toronto-based animal rights activist, Jenny McQueen, has announced her most recent arrest. In an Instagram/Facebook Post, Jenny states that on March 30th she was arrested at the Waterloo Regional Police Station for her actions in a Meat the Victims event that took place on October 3rd, 2021 at Hybrid Turkeys in Ontario. The event sought to protest the factory production of turkeys at the facility. Five activists were preemptively arrested before the action began, while other activists were met by police officers at the farm’s property lines. Jenny states she has been charged under the Criminal Code for “break and enter to commit an indictable offence,” and “counselling an indictable offence.” There are possibly other activists who may be charged for their roles in the October 2021 action. Read the Instagram post here, and read about the Meat the Victims action here.

Angela Fernandez, “Beyond Cages: Animal Law and Criminal Punishment by Justin Marceau (review)” 12:1 Journal of Animal Ethics 114-117.

Summary: Justin Marceau’s book Beyond Cages: Animal Law and Criminal Punishment shines a light on three very serious problems in the U.S. animal protection movement brought on by its connections to the criminal justice system: (i) implicit racism baked into the race neutral or color-blind position the movement takes; (ii) reliance on faulty “link” research used to justify harsher sentences for individuals who harm animals; and (iii) having accepted in the 2000’s, either explicitly or implicitly, the availability of tougher felony convictions in exchange for industry-wide agricultural exemptions for cruelty prosecutions involving food animals. Marceau argues that these issues have seriously compromised the animal protection movement’s aspirations to be a civil rights and social justice movement.

This review explains each of these three problems in turn and asks, given how racist, human-centered, and punitive the past has been, whether the movement deserves to wear the mantle of a progressive social justice movement. It argues that we need to understand Marceau’s critiques of the animal protection movement as a series of challenges that need to be met. What he writes of the movement is stinging, and, really very damning; however, it also provides important and explicit direction on what needs to be done in order for the movement to occupy the moral high ground that it should.

Jessica Eisen, “Of Linchpins and Bedrock: Hope, Despair, and Pragmatism in Animal Law” University of Toronto Law Journal.

Abstract: The field of animal law is ubiquitously characterized as being split between proponents of ‘animal rights’ and ‘animal welfare.’ While rights advocates seek to end the legal classification of animals as ‘property’ (or pursue the related goal of establishing animals as legal ‘persons’), welfarists aim to improve animal lives within the property paradigm. The common wisdom that all legal approaches to animals are fundamentally split between rights and welfarism has worked to ossify categories of analysis and prevent more accurate and productive accounts of what truly divides and unites theorists within this increasingly diverse field. In place of this traditional assumption that one must be simply ‘for’ or ‘against’ the abolition of property status, I propose an alternative pair of axes around which we might more productively organize existing and future approaches to animal law. First, what do these various approaches take to be the linchpin of animals’ exploitation – the thing that, though central to the system, is changeable, such that, if changed, the whole system might change with it? Second, what do these approaches take to constitute the unchangeable bedrock of existing systems of animal exploitation – things that reform efforts must take as inevitable, for better or for worse? Changing our lens to focus on bedrock and linchpins invites more nuanced debate respecting the unique constellations of hope, despair, and pragmatism that in fact animate so much animal law scholarship. In a field characterized by transformative ambitions, the proposed analysis of linchpins and bedrock focuses our attention on differing accounts of change – what must change and what cannot.

During the fifth session of the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA), a resolution was passed that recognized the importance of animal welfare in promoting the “One Health” approach to the Sustainable Development Goals, and that animal health is connected to human health and wellbeing. This “Resolution on the Nexus between Animal Welfare, Environment and Sustainable Development” calls on the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Executive Director to prepare a report exploring the link between animal welfare and the environment. Read the Resolution here.

As a result of a Freedom of Information request, wild animal protection group The Fur-Bearers have found that over $15 million dollars was given to Ontario fur farms between 2013 and 2020. Payouts were given through a joint federal, provincial, and territorial program called AgriStability. Payouts ranged from a total of $238,348 to $4,621,026 per year, and the number of farms receiving the payouts ranged from twenty-one to fifty in a given year. The blog goes on to highlight the decline in demand for fur products from consumers, and the government’s persistence in “keeping fur farming alive through public funding programs like AgriStability.”  Read The Fur-Bearer’s blog post here.