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Four key points may be drawn
from Alberta’s animal welfare
legislation. First, the legislation reflects public policy and the felt
need and importance of protecting animals in this province. Why are the
rights of animals important in our society? Animals over whom humans
exercise dominion and control are a highly vulnerable group. They
cannot talk – or at least in a language we can readily understand. They
have no capacity to consent to what we do to them. Just as one measure
of society is how it protects disadvantaged groups, so too another
valid measure is how it chooses to treat the vulnerable animals that
citizens own and control. |
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Second, while animal rights in
this province are not at the
end of the spectrum advocated by some, the Alberta Legislature has
nevertheless accorded animals the protection of certain rights. In
doing so, the Legislature has balanced the interests as between humans
and animals as considered appropriate and made a number of policy
choices. This is its decision to make. Having done so, it falls to the
executive branch of government to ensure that those rights are actually
enforced in accordance with law. |
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Third, since the rights adopted
for the benefit of animals
are limited, courts should not diminish the full import of animal
protection laws by creating unnecessary barriers to those seeking to
ensure compliance with them. Animals, including Lucy, cannot commence
lawsuits on their own to protect themselves. They must rely on humans
to give voice to the truly voiceless. Thus, courts should take a
generous, not impoverished, approach to the grant of public interest
standing for those attempting to enforce the restrictive animal rights
that do exist. |
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Fourth, the animal welfare
legislation is not simply for
show, to assuage our collective conscience, promising much but
delivering little. There is no principle of law inviting or compelling
this result. Instead, this legislation should be given a large, liberal
interpretation to ensure it fulfills the Legislature’s intention. With
respect to the Act and Regulations, that aim is clear. The overarching
purpose is to protect animals – not their owners. |