Animals in Canada desperately need your help. Their lives could depend on it.

In late 2014, Canada was given an embarassing “D” rating on the animal protection index, which listed “archaic anti-cruelty legislation” as one of the main reasons for the failing grade.

As Canadians, we need to immediately update old and outdated sections of the Code that currently allow criminals to profit from animal fights and does not protect animals against abusive sexual acts, which often also leads to the victimization of children.

Bill C-84, which was passed in the House of Commons with unanimous support on March 18th, 2019, includes non-controversial and much-needed animal protection amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada. These changes have the support of the animal welfare sector, agriculture industry, social services, the veterinary community, and representatives from all parties.

There’s no reason why these laws shouldn’t be updated today!

Bill C-84 calls for the Canadian government to:

1. define “bestiality”;
2. expand the scope of the offence of encouraging, aiding or assisting at the fighting or baiting of animals or birds so that the offence
3. includes promoting, arranging, receiving money for or taking part in the fighting or baiting of animals or birds, and
4. also applies with respect to the training, transporting or breeding of animals or birds for fighting or baiting; and
5. expand the scope of the offence of building, making, maintaining or keeping a cockpit so that the offence applies with respect to any arena for animal fighting.

Once House of Commons passes a bill it is sent on to the Senate which discusses it and generally approves it. The final step is Royal Assent, where the Governor General signs the bill on behalf of the Crown to make it an official law. Unfortunately, there are only eight sitting weeks left in the current session before Parliament rises for summer. After that, Bill C-84 will die as we enter the fall election.
 
We’ve worked far too hard to hope that our next government officials will carry on where we left off. If we don’t put pressure on the Senate right now to get Bill C-84 passed into royal accent before June 21st, we will have failed our animals and failed as a country.

Please sign our petition below to let your local Senator know that updating the Animal Criminal Code is not an election issue and that it needs to happen now. 

These are the first of many changes we need to make to our Animal Rights Code, but they are changes that all stakeholders agree on. We are world leaders in so many other aspects and it's time Canadians catch up in regards to animal rights!

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." – Mahatma Gandhi