Toughest animal cruelty penalties now B.C. law

Amendments to the Province’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which make the inhumane treatment of animals a violation in B.C., are now law.

The legislation will also make it a provincial offence to harm or attempt to harm a law enforcement animal.

Currently, police in British Columbia use both horses and dogs to assist in law enforcement purposes, such as crowd control, offender apprehension, search and rescue and drug/explosive detection. 

The following amendments received Royal Assent Friday and apply to all animals in British Columbia:

• Increased penalties for animal cruelty to fines up to $75,000 and jail terms of up to two years.
• Extension limitation period for offences under the act from six months to three years.
• Greater accountability for owners, companies and others responsible for animals to protect their animals from distress.
• New ability for government to set standards pertaining to the use, care and protection of animals – including sled dogs.
• The amendments to the act are a result of recommendations made by the provincially led Sled Dog Task Force in April 2011.

To view the Sled Dog Task Force Report visit: http://www.gov.bc.ca/agri/taskforce.html