Ethical pet adoption and the law
We love our pets, but do backyard breeders?
Animal lovers often look forward to bringing home a pet when the right time comes along, but that experience could soon turn into a nightmare if the pet comes from an unhealthy breeding background. Backyard breeders and puppy mills have a reputation for prioritizing profits over the welfare of their animals, which could potentially lead to adverse health effects on the animals.
These health issues could be lifelong and cause an extreme and unfair financial burden on the pet’s new owners. One needs to be more mindful of one’s surroundings as the implications of these practices become more apparent to society.
According to PAWS, puppy mills are commercial breeding facilities that produce dogs in large quantities, which are then sold to customers through advertisements over the internet and flyers. Retailers take their word for happy and healthy dogs, but the reality is usually different.
Animals in puppy mills are usually treated poorly. They are kept in cages, left to themselves. They are not provided healthy and hygienic food and water, leading to malnutrition and other health effects. Some of them are not given enough veterinary care whenever required.
Dogs coming out of these puppy mills and backyard breeders may seem healthy but then gradually, health issues like congenital eye and hip defects, parasites, or even deadly Parvovirus may spring up. According to some animal support organizations like PAWS, “continuously breeding dogs for years to produce litters for a profit still jeopardizes the animals’ welfare.”
Animals who are mature enough to breed are continuously put under the process of breeding until they reach their highest capacity and have nothing more to produce, at which point they are then killed or left to fend for themselves.
Regina is still in the developmental stages of advocating for animals’ rights and laws. Groups such as Animal Justice and the Regina Humane Society play an important role in advocating for combating unethical breeding practices.
The Criminal Code of Canada’s section 445.1 states that “Every one commits an offence who (a) wilfully causes or, being the owner, wilfully permits to be caused unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal or a bird.”
Section 446 (1) states an offence is committed when “(b) being the owner or the person having the custody or control of a domestic animal or a bird or an animal or a bird wild by nature that is in captivity, abandons it in distress or wilfully neglects or fails to provide suitable and adequate food, water, shelter and care for it.”
The Regina Humane Society also highlights some of the City of Regina Animal Bylaws. According to the Humane Society, the “City of Regina Bylaw #2009-44 regulates offenses within the City of Regina, including animals-at-large, defecation complaints, dangerous animals, the types of animals that can be kept, and pet licensing.”
Every province has their own animal welfare laws. For example, in Ontario, the Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act has been enacted to combat puppy mills. The law prohibits inbreeding, breeding female dogs more than three times in a two-year period, and breeding female dogs younger than a year old. The law, however, does not require licensing for dog breeders, making enforcement challenging.
The responsibilities of pet owners are an issue of animal rights and their welfare. People may dislike having laws that impact their pet ownership, but when it comes to animal safety and well-being, the discomfort of humans should not be a factor. Laws and legislation that keep animals safe still have a long way to go, in Regina, in Saskatchewan, and in Canada.
