In January 2024, changes to British Columbia's Family Law Act and the Provincial Court Family Rules improved the status of companion animals in the province. In situations like divorce or separation, animals kept primarily for the purpose of companionship are no longer treated like property in the same sense that a car, computer or chair is. Now his or her ability to suffer is recognized along with his or her history and relationships with family members - and his or her best interests are to be taken into account in the event of a breakup of the family home. This may seem a small change, but it is actually a momentous first step. Animals are being recognized as more than inanimate property, something that has been a long time coming in Canadian law.

We can almost say that in BC pets are not treated like furniture. Unless we look at the Canadian Criminal Code. Under the Criminal Code all animals are treated like property in the same sense as the coffee table. If your dog is stolen in BC or anywhere else in Canada, it is treated like inanimate property. If your dog is tortured, it is treated like inanimate property.

We are urging the Federal government to follow BC’s example and recognize companion animals as being more than inanimate property. We ask that the government recognize their ability to suffer, their need to be protected from cruelty and their inherent right to protections under the law that are beyond what is applicable to inanimate objects. 

This kind of thing is happening elsewhere in the world. In Spain animals are no longer considered “objects” under the law and their well being and protection are considered in cases of divorce or separation, much as is happening in BC. Wild animals are included in Spain’s law, but the focus is primarily on greater legal protections for domesticated animals, particularly in family disputes. This is part of a trend. There are actually more than 30 other countries that recognize animals as sentient including France, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand and Tanzania.

We call on the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada to amend the Criminal Code Sections 444 - 447 to provide for the welfare and protection of domestic companion animals.

If BC and other countries can recognize our companion animals as living beings with a status elevated over inanimate property under law, so can the Government of Canada.