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REFLECTION: Do Ontario's animal welfare laws need more teeth or do we need more heart?

Ontario's new PAWS Act may not be enough to stop animal cruelty

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 3, 2020
Kim Zarzour

Throughout 2019, the image kept me up at night.

I could not "unsee" the Newmarket dog, his head draped awkwardly on the tarmac, neck weighed down with a heavy chain.

We'd heard about this pup’s plight from our readers after we published stories related to concerns about the OSPCA. Neighbours asked us to find out what could be done to help him --and it turns out, not much.

Under animal abuse laws, an animal is deemed "neglected" if it lacks fresh water, food, and insulated shelter --and despite the optics, animal control officers determined this dog had all three.

Occasionally, I would drive past the driveway where he was chained, hoping this time there would be a child playing fetch, an owner leading him into the house or out for a walk --but every single time, winter, spring, summer or fall, the poor pup was out there, on his own.

I was not alone in my concern.

After his photo was published as part of a series on animal welfare laws, readers rallied to action.

The address was not published but they found him anyway, searching the street or online. Some spoke to the owner, others tried to organize petitions, protests, offered to drop off a care package with a dog bed or chew toys, or vowed to give him a better home.

That’s one thing I have learned writing about issues related to pet care: Animal lovers are a passionate bunch, ready to mobilize on social media and battle for the voiceless.

And it’s likely because of this passion that change is happening.

Last month, Ontario announced the first provincial animal welfare system to replace duties once performed by the OSPCA.

The PAWS Act came into force Jan. 1, promising increased transparency and accountability, more inspectors and a one-window complaints mechanism for the public.

Animal advocate Lynn Perrier is optimistic it will do just that.

She has been working on this issue for years and credits former MPP Frank Klees --along with other activists --for working behind the scenes to make change happen.

But on the local level, challenges remain.

There is still confusion about whom residents should call with their concerns --the province, or the municipality.

Alex Wray, Aurora’s manager of bylaw services, says it’s simple: The province’s animal welfare inspectors deal with protecting pets from people (abuse), while municipal animal control officers deal with protecting people from pets (dog bites etc.).

But municipalities don’t have the authority to impose standards of care in their bylaws. What rules they can establish are not always easily enforced.

Take, for example, a dog tethered outdoors. Town bylaws may stipulate length of a tether, but are challenged when it comes to enforcing the length of time the dog is attached to the tether.

Some municipalities tried imposing strict rules on tether time, but bylaw officers can only levy fines on pet owners --they cannot remove the dog. That is up to the province and is subject to inspectors’ interpretation, to the weather, to the size and breed of dog.

There is also confusion about how to define proper pet care. Just as York Region residents bring a diversity of attitudes and approaches to animals, their pets are diverse too --large breeds and small, some with no fur to insulate, some with a predisposition to being outdoors or in.

Newmarket Mayor John Taylor has heard from residents with a variety of concerns --not just the Newmarket dog being tethered outside, but dogs at large endangering public safety, and animals sold from crates in pet stores.

It’s why the town is holding a public consultation meeting this January, to determine how animal control bylaws can be improved.

But maybe we’ve got this all backwards.

Maybe, instead of focusing on animal control, we should focus on animal compassion.

The City of Calgary is considered one of the best animal control models in the world. Their key to their success is educating about responsible pet ownership through public events and a school program.

Inspired by this approach, the City of Richmond Hill launched a pet educator pilot project in 2014, but it didn't last long. The animal services educator position was eliminated in 2016.

Now the OSPCA is taking a stab at it.

AnimalSmart is a new, free curriculum launched last year. It’s currently offered to grades 1-3, (expanded to Grades 4-6 in 2020), teaching kids how to view the world from an animal’s eyes, to make decisions that consider the needs of all living things.

If we want to have a compassionate society --to not have our hearts broken by images of pets in distress --it’s upon us all to change attitudes, to raise a generation guided by Gandhi and his belief that the greatness of a nation is judged by the way its animals are treated.

GOOD TO KNOW:

New 24-7 toll-free number to report concerns about animal distress or abuse: 1-833-926-4625

Animal Control and Licensing public information session:

Newmarket's first public engagement to garner feedback from the community and stakeholders on potential regulations and licensing opportunities related to animal control and pet stores.