Animal Cruelty

Guiding Principles

As an Association we agree with the following principals concerning Animal Damage Control (ADC) programs:

• That the animals we harvest for fur must be captured or killed in a humane manner, so as to reduce unnecessary suffering.

  
  

• That the tools we use to harvest furbearers must meet publicly acceptable standards (example: International Trapping Standards).

  
  

• That we support legislation which requires of us reasonable and practical conduct that is within our control in order to reduce unnecessary suffering.

  
  

• That we support education programs that stress our moral obligations to professionally manage the animals we harvest.

  
  

• That we support research and development programs which focus on improved humane techniques and devices so that suffering is reduced.

Position

To support the foregoing Principals we as an Association believe that:

• The current wording of Bill C-15 cannot be supported by our Association since it is ambiguous and open to interpretations that could force upon us unreasonable onus and conduct so that our practice of harvesting furbearers cannot be continued in a traditional and practical manner.

  
  

• We support the wording of the current legislation which requires that a person knowingly allows an animal to suffer should be punished.

  
  

• Bill C-15 include a provision for accepting the use of devices that meet an international standard for capturing furbearers.

  
  

• The extent of stress and physical pain associated through capturing a wild animal with a device cannot be concluded to imply that the trapper deliberately, knowingly or willfully inflicts pain, but is a consequence over which he has little control.

  
  

• We agree the proposed exceptions as provided by the LawReform Commission of Canada referring to Clause 2 which states: "No injury or serious physical pain is caused unnecessarily if it is a reasonably necessary means of achieving any of the following purposes: hunting, trapping, fishing, and other sporting activities conducted in accordance with the lawful rules relating to them".

Reviewed: August 2007