Calgarians rally to change Canada’s pet protection laws
Posted Jan 25, 2014 5:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Local animal lovers want the entire country to take notice, after the deaths of a Siberian husky and a cat, who were found in an alleyways earlier this month, with their mouths taped shut.
About 1,000 people took their pets for a walk in Nose Hill Park Saturday afternoon to sign petitions, hold signs and make a video.
The aim is to force changes at the federal level to animal and pet protection laws.
Those who gathered may still need an ear from federal lawmakers, but provincially there was a show of support from Jonathan Denis, Alberta’s justice minister, as well as Len Webber, MLA for Calgary-Foothills, who is working on a private member’s bill to introduce harsher animal abuse punishments.
The walk and video was organized by Shalane Pryce, the same woman who founded Southern Alberta Pet Connection on Facebook after June’s flood saw pets being stolen and mistreated.
“Take our animals out of our property clause in our law and we get some protection for them,” Pryce said.
Pryce said they will be working at putting together a video of the event and will post it to YouTube.
She added the hope is the video will go viral and the rest of Canada will get on board.
Farrah Reimer, a dog owner attending the event, said she worries about the bigger picture when animal abusers are not caught.
“What someone is doing to animals is just atrocious, but what they are doing to kids, it scares the hell out of me,” she said.
Event attendee, Lisa Davidson, got emotional talking about the issues.
“There’s an individual or individuals walking amongst us who have done this to animals and they’re in our society and they need to be identified and punished,” Davidson said.
