Provincial and territorial legislation concerning animal welfare

Canadian provinces have the primary responsibility for protecting the welfare of animals, including farm animals and companion animals. All provinces and territories have laws to ensure animal welfare. Provincial and territorial legislation tend to be general in scope, covering a wide range of animal welfare interests. Some provinces and territories have regulations that govern specific aspects of animal welfare, or are related to certain species.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) animal welfare mandate is limited to regulating humane transport of animals and the humane treatment of food animals in federal abattoirs. While producers, along with provincial and territorial authorities, are responsible for the care of animals on farm, the CFIA works to protect farm animals by:

  • working closely with the provinces, territories and all stakeholders in the animal care community when animal welfare issues are identified
  • working with industry to establish standards of care and biosecurity
  • establishing the requirements to protect all animals during transport
  • verifying that humane transport and humane slaughter requirements are respected in all federal slaughter plants

The Criminal Code of Canada prohibits anyone from willfully causing animals to suffer from neglect, pain or injury. The Criminal Code is enforced by police services, provincial and territorial Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and/or provincial and territorial ministries of agriculture.

The roles of the provinces and territories are described below.

Alberta

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in Alberta.

  • Animal Protection Act and Animal Protection Regulation
    • applies to all animals during any activity, excluding generally accepted practices of animal management, husbandry and slaughter
    • enforced by Peace Officers with an appointment issued by the Solicitor General's office for the Animal Protection Act, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers and members of municipal police services
  • Meat Inspection Act and Meat Inspection Regulation
    • applies to the slaughter of animals where the meat is intended for human consumption excluding the slaughter of a producer's own animals for consumption by their household
    • enforced by police officers and inspectors designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation
  • Livestock Industry Diversification Act and Livestock Industry Diversification (Ministerial) Regulation
    • provides the facility, registration, and tracking requirements for farmed cervids, and the standards for velvet antler removal
    • enforced by inspectors designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation

British Columbia

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in British Columbia.

Manitoba

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in Manitoba.

New Brunswick

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in New Brunswick.

Newfoundland and Labrador

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nova Scotia

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in Nova Scotia.

  • Animal Health and Protection Act
    • addresses destroying diseased animals, quarantine, vaccination, and testing
    • enforced by inspectors designated by the Ministry of Agriculture
  • Animal Protection Act
    • protects all animals during any activity, excluding generally accepted practices of animal management husbandry or slaughter
    • enforced by inspectors designated by the Ministry of Agriculture
  • Meat Inspection Act and Meat Inspection Regulations Respecting Slaughter
    • protect most farm animals during slaughter
    • enforced by inspectors designated by the Ministry of Agriculture
  • Baby Chick Protection Act
    • prohibits displaying or selling artificially coloured living chickens
    • enforced by the Department of Agriculture

Northwest Territories

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in the Northwest Territories.

  • Herd and Fencing Act (PDF)
    • protects most farm animals during housing (fencing)
    • enforced by officers appointed by the Commissioner

Nunavut

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in Nunavut.

  • Herd and Fencing Act
    • protects most farm animals during housing (fencing)
    • enforced by officers appointed by the Commissioner

Ontario

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in Ontario.

Prince Edward Island

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in Prince Edward Island.

  • Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations
    • protect all farm animals from distress during any activity, excluding generally accepted practices of animal management, husbandry or slaughter
    • enforced by inspectors appointed by the Ministry of Agriculture

Québec

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals and companion animals in Quebec.

  • Animal Welfare and Safety Act (B-3.1)
    • to ensure the protection, welfare and safety of all designated animal species throughout their lives
    • agriculture, teaching and research activities are exempted of certain obligations of care and prohibited acts only if generally recognized rules and practices are followed
    • ensures that the circumstances and the methods used to euthanize or slaughter animals are not cruel and cause a minimum of pain and anxiety
  • Food Products Act (P-29) and Regulation respecting food
    • provide standards relating to transporting, holding and slaughtering farm animals, as well as facility sanitation
    • enforced by inspectors and veterinarians appointed by the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
  • Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife (C.61.1)
    • protects wildlife and wild animals kept in captivity (those not designed by B-3.1)
    • enforced by wildlife protection officers of the Quebec Ministry of Environment, Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks

Saskatchewan

The following acts and regulations provide protection for farm animals in Saskatchewan.

  • The Animal Protection Act, 2018 and Animal Protection Regulations, 2018
    • protects all animals from being in distress
    • covers animal care duties and prohibited activity
    • protection of service animals, and protection of certain animals against dogs
    • appointment and powers of animal protection agencies, and animal protection officers
  • The Animal Health Act and Animal Health Regulations
    • covers animal health and the prevention, control, and eradication of diseases among animals
    • authority for establishing animal health programs, biosecurity measures, quarantine orders, surveillance zone orders and establishing reportable and notifiable disease lists
  • The Stray Animals Act and Stray Animals Regulations, 1999
    • livestock specific (not cats and dogs)
    • gives local governments the authority to pass bylaws to address stray animals, including locations of pounds, and appointment of pound keepers
    • outlines rules for the restraint and impoundment of animals, and requires the finder to provide food and shelter for the stray animal
  • The Animal Products Act
    • protects any farm animal, including fertilized ova, fish, and bees during production, manufacture, sale, purchase and transport. Various parts of this process are covered under multiple regulations
      • The Livestock Dealer Regulations, 1995
      • The Livestock Inspection and Transportation Regulations, 1978
      • The Animal Custom Care Regulations, 2006
      • The Saskatchewan Egg Regulations, 2010
      • The Fur Farming Regulations, 2017
      • The Meat Inspection (Saskatchewan) Regulations
      • The Domestic Game Farm Animal Regulations
      • The Premises Identification Regulations
      • The Milk Products Compositional Standards Regulations, 2014

Yukon

The following act and regulations provide protection for farm animals in Yukon. There are additional supporting regulations that define species categories and permit fees as well as service of orders (general regulation)

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