As CETFA supporters know, Canada’s animal cruelty laws lag far behind the rest of the Western world. In an attempt to bring long overdue amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada, Member of Parliament Nathaniel Erskine-Smith has introduced a private member’s bill: Bill C-246 – the Modernizing Animal Protections Act.

If passed, the bill, would:

• Make it easier to prosecute individuals who fail to provide adequate care for an animal (currently the courts are required to demonstrate that an individual intended to neglect their animals);
• Make it an offense to train an animal to fight, or to benefit financially from the fighting of animals;
• Impose a lifetime ban on owning animals when an individual is convicted of a second offense;
• Ban the sale of cat and dog fur in Canada; and
• Ban the importation of shark fins into Canada

The bill has a long road ahead and requires everyone’s support if it has a chance to succeed. Please write your MP today and ask them to support this important bill. To find your MP, click here.