Cruelty to Animals Bill

Bill C-17 Bill C-15 Bill C15B Bill C-10 Bill C-10B
Bill C-22 now Bill C-50 (Bill S-24, Bill S-213)

Click on the links above to view the Bill.

Existing Criminal Code

Following is a summary of the existing Criminal Code:

The Criminal Code is a federal law that is in force everywhere in Canada. Section 446 of the Criminal Code states:

You are guilty of an offence if you:

1. willfully cause or allow unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury to an animal;
2. by willful neglect cause injury to animals while they are being transported;
3. abandon an animal or fail to provide it with enough suitable food, water, shelter, and care;
4. participate in any way in the fighting of animals (example: arranging or attending a cockfight or dogfight);
5. administer a poison or injury-causing drug to any domestic or captive wild animal or allow this to happen (example: poisoning a neighbor's cat or spraying a dog with oven cleaner);
6. are involved in any way with the release of captive birds for the purpose of shooting them;

Note: Section 429 of the Criminal Code defines "willful" in the following way:

If you cause something to happen, either by doing it or by not doing something you should do, and you know what the results will be, you are considered to have done so "willfully". (Example: failing to feed an animal could be considered to a "willful" act, since you know that an animal will starve if it is not fed).

Any person found guilty under Section 446 of the Criminal Code can be fined up to $2,000, sentenced to up to 6 months in jail, or both. In addition to this, the Judge can make an order prohibiting that person from having an animal or animals for up to 2 years.