Help Ensure Passage of a Bill to Strengthen Canada’s Anti-Cruelty Statutes

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Not since 1892 have Canada’s laws against cruelty to animals undergone significant revision. That may be about to change. Bill C-10B, which has already spent four years in debate and is again being considered, would make punishable by law more forms of the abuse of animals, as well as increase penalties that could be given to perpetrators.

Canada’s animals are not the only ones who could suffer if this bill fails to pass. Violent acts toward animals have long been recognized as indicators of a dangerous psychopathy that does not confine its victims to animals. Studies have now convinced sociologists, lawmakers, and the courts that acts of cruelty toward animals deserve our attention. They can be the first sign of a violent pathology that includes human victims. In short, Parliament’s passage of Bill C-10B would help protect the safety and welfare of Canada’s animals and population-at-large alike.

Laws must send a strong message that violence against any feeling creature—human or non-human—is unacceptable. Please help ensure that animal abusers in Canada receive that message loud and clear by asking government officials to support Bill C-10B. Click here for contact information for the prime minister and click here to contact your MP and senator. Please consider sending a letter or making a phone call, as e-mail messages to legislators are often less effective. All correspondence should be respectful and polite in order to not detract from our efforts.

For more information on the bill, visit the Web sites of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and the Toronto Coalition for Anticruelty Legislation . To learn more about the link between cruelty to animals and violence directed toward humans, please click here and here.

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