The question everyone asks is why? Why would someone cut the ears off a helpless puppy and leave it on an apartment balcony to suffer? The animal was found in a Windsor complex last week and the discovery has raised new questions about animal cruelty laws. The six-month-old German Shepherd Rottweiler mix named AK is now in the custody of the Ontario SPCA. The explanation for the crime is as disturbing as the act itself: authorities were allegedly told it was done to make the animal look more menacing.
As if that wasn't bad enough,
OSPCA officials near Orillia came across yet another case of man's inhumanity to pet. They discovered a beagle that appears to have been dragged behind a vehicle. "After examination, it was discovered that the pads of her front feet were worn off, and she had a severe eye infection," reveals the organization's Tom Molloy. "Also around the neck, it shows signs where she did have a collar on. It was very, very tight."
Both instances disgust
Toronto Humane Society cruelty investigator Tre Smith, who's seen it all too often. "I think it's a disgusting display of animal cruelty. I mean it's unnecessary, causes unnecessary pain and suffering on this animal." The federal penalties for inflicting that kind of pain include six months in jail and/or a $2,000 fine and a two-year prohibition on owning another animal. But Parliament is pondering a change that would increase the fines to an unlimited range and put a potential lifetime ban on owning animals.
The incidents have also led to renewed calls for tougher animal cruelty penalties in Ontario, which critics complain has a lax policy when it comes to protecting the four legged members of our society. The province is mulling over a review of the
current statues with an eye to toughening them up. Penalties now range from a few months behind bars to a $60,000 fine. "Unfortunately animals are considered property under the Act," complains Smith. "They're not considered an entity or a live being, which definitely needs to be changed."
Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter agrees something needs to be done. "We don't have any laws at the provincial level to deal with cruelty to animals by owners. That's covered under the
Criminal Code of Canada, and there are penalties that are there, and at the present time that law is being revisited."
That's not enough for Smith. "We don't want these people to have animals any more," he concludes. "We don't want them just to go to jail for six months and when they come out, get another animal. We want them to not ever own another animal for the lifetime they are on this earth."
How to report a case of animal cruelty
Signs of animal cruelty