The Ontario government has announced that it intends to crack down on animal abuse.
The crackdown is proposing the strongest penalties in Canada for offenders, along with a more robust enforcement system.
“We made a commitment to take action and develop a modern animal welfare enforcement system to keep animals safe. I am proud to say we are delivering on that commitment with new legislation that includes the toughest penalties in Canada,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “Ontarians can be confident the government is proposing a system that will better protect animals from negligent care.”
The proposed Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) Act, 2019 would improve animal welfare by:
- Introducing new offences to combat activities such as dog fighting
- Giving inspectors necessary powers to help animals in distress and to hold owners accountable
- Giving government the ability to empower others, beyond inspectors, to take action when an animal is in imminent risk of serious injury or death when a pet is left in a hot car
- Significantly increasing penalties for serious, repeat and corporate offenders. These new penalties would be the strongest in Canada
- Improving oversight and ensuring increased transparency and accountability, including establishing a one-window complaints mechanism for the public
- Establishing a multi-disciplinary advisory table made up of a wide range of experts, including veterinarians, agriculture representatives, academics, animal advocates and others to provide ongoing advice to the ministry to improve animal welfare.
On top of the proposed changes to legislation, the government plans to hire more provincial inspectors to provide better coverage across the province, including specialists in livestock, agriculture, horses, zoos and aquariums.
“The PAWS Act would introduce the strongest penalties in Canada for offenders and make Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to implement a full provincial government-based animal welfare enforcement model,” said Parliamentary Assistant Christine Hogarth. “This made-in-Ontario model demonstrates that our government understands how significant the well-being of animals is to the people of this province.”
The proposal was based on input from municipalities, police, technical experts, veterinarian organizations, animal sheltering and advocacy programs. The public also helped as well as nearly 17,000 people responded to a public survey earlier in the year to offer their opinions on how animal welfare could be improved.
If passed, the government says they would continue to work with partners to ensure the best protection and support for animals.
