Remember the shocking news back in late January about 100 sled dogs having been violently killed? I personally was horrified by the story, 100 Sled Dogs Killed After Tourists Go Home. The British Columbia parliament has reviewed, and chosen to enact, all provisions suggested by the sled dog task force. On behalf of those dogs who suffered in their final minutes or hours, something positive arises.
Just yesterday, Premier Christy Clark announced that the government will immediately begin to make the changes to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. These changes will make B.C.’s laws against animal cruelty the toughest in Canada; in addition to having assembled a task force after the Outdoor Adventures incident came to light, funding was also provided to the SPCA in the amount of $100,000 for investigation.
The task force, which worked on strengthening animal protection in B.C., recommended the following provisions:
- For most serious offenses, increase penalties of up to $75,000 and 24 months jail
- Extend current 6-month limitation period for prosecution
- Strengthen criminal code as it relates to animal cruelty
- Require veterinarians to report abuse
- Develop mandatory standard of care for sled dog operators
- Strengthen SPCA ability to conduct cruelty investigations
- Ministry of the Attorney-General to oversee animal abuse cases, increased training
- Sled dog companies receiving tenures on Crown land under the Land Act subject to requirement of annual inspections by either SPCA or licensed vet
- Development of a self-sustaining sled dog industry association, including mandatory licensing and auditing programs; also require membership of this association for businesses related to the industry.
A video of the story can be found at Globe and Mail
source: The Globe and Mail
Hi CindyLu,
Oh my, I wasn’t aware of this sad story that seems to have made the BC Government take some action.
I’m going to check out your links. Such cruelty that you allude to within your posting, is another sad reflection on man’s inhumanity to our precious animal friends.
I will be in British Columbia in May and I will discuss this story and the changes made to the Act with my friends and family.
In peace and kindness, your way, Gary.
Yes, Gary, man’s inhumanity can be astounding at times – fortunately, there are also plenty of people who do everything they can to prevent it or rectify what has been done.
I hope you’ll write about what you learn when you visit B.C. – I’ll look forward to it! I once visited Vancouver, and completely fell in love with the area. Beautiful environment, beautiful people!
I shall endeavour to write about what I learn when I’m back in BC. I shall be spending time in Vancouver and fittingly, in a town named ‘Hope’, British Columbia 🙂
Looking forward to seeing the beautiful scenery and the beautiful people.
Take very good care, Gary.
Sad that it takes a tragedy to encourage action. But Alien and I remain eternally hopeful.
Hugs,
Thank you for the update… still such a horrible story, but I hope that action will be taken to prevent something like that from happening again.
Oh dear, I haven’t visited in so long… Sorry, but I’m really busy with getting a job right now. I like the new layout, it looks very nice.
I remember the story about the killed sled dogs and I’m happy to know the government has done something to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. Thanks for the update!
We are happy that some good came out of this! We hope this will NEVER happen again!
what a horrible story, but I hope that at least some good, for the future, will come out of it. Thanks for the update.