Nunavut’s animal abuse laws are weak, group says

For what it’s worth, Nunavut is at the bottom of the barrel for the fifth year in a row when it comes to a ranking of anti-animal abuse laws done by the U.S Animal Legal Defense Fund.

The fund, which has been around since 1979, ranks each Canadian jurisdiction for the comprehensiveness and relative strength of its animal protection laws.

The report “Animal Protection Laws of the U.S.A. and Canada” says it recognizes “the provinces and territories where laws protecting animals have real teeth, and calls out those where animal abusers get off easy,” a news release said.

Among the territory’s weakness: “Nunavut has inadequate standards of care, no restrictions on the future ownership of animals by abusers, and minimal fines and sentences for those convicted of abuse. In addition, Nunavut’s legislation only covers dogs – no other species are protected,” the July 9 release said.

The Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island and Quebec follow Nunavut on the “unsavory best places to be an animal abuser” list.

In the top tier are Manitoba, British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

Manitoba took the top spot because of its wide array of animal protection laws.

The middle tier consisted of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Yukon, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“It is our hope that these ongoing reviews continue to garner support for both the strengthening and enforcement of animal protection laws throughout Canada,” ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells said.

The full report, including an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the animal protection laws of each province and territory, and a detailed rankings map are available at www.aldf.org.