Second

Session, 50th General Assembly

Charles III, 2024

BILL 65

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

ANIMAL HEALTH AND PROTECTION ACT

Received

and Read the First Time ................................................................

Second

Reading ............................................................................................

Committee .....................................................................................................

Third

Reading ...............................................................................................

Royal

Assent .................................................................................................

HONOURABLE GERRY

BYRNE

Minister of

Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture

Ordered to be printed by

the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Animal Health and Protection Act to

add a definition of "abandoned ";

amend the

definitions of "distress"

and "owner ";

prohibit the declawing of cats

unless it is undertaken as an accepted activity as prescribed in the regulations;

modernize the language

respecting safe containment of dogs;

prohibit owners from allowing

livestock to run at large;

permit an inspector to issue an

order requiring a person to comply with the Act and regulations;

increase the penalties for

offences under the Act; and

incorporate gender-neutral

language.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE ANIMAL HEALTH AND

PROTECTION ACT

Analysis

S.2 Amdt.

Interpretation

S.3 Amdt.

Labrador Inuit rights

S.13 Amdt.

Taking custody of animal

S.14 Amdt.

Destruction of an animal

S.16 Amdt.

Provincial Court order

S.26.1 Added

Prohibition - declawing

S.27 Amdt.

Veterinarian to report

S.32 Amdt.

Dogs to be safely contained

S.33 R&S

Prohibition livestock at large

S.39 Amdt.

Impounding livestock

S.44 Amdt.

Provincial Court order

S.49 Amdt.

Protection of heritage animals

S.58 Amdt.

S.59 Amdt.

Suspension or cancellation of a licence

S.60 Amdt.

Production of licence

S.62 Amdt.

Address for service

S.63 Amdt.

Notice of change

S.68 Amdt.

Inspector

S.71.1 Added

Order of inspector

S.72 Amdt.

Seizure and forfeiture

S.73 Amdt.

Custody in law

S.76 Amdt.

Offence

Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL2010 cA-9.1

as amended

1. (1) Subsection 2(1) of the Animal Health and Protection Act is amended by adding immediately

before paragraph (

a) the following:

(a.01) "abandoned" means an animal that

(

i) appears ownerless,

after reasonable steps have been taken to contact its owner,

(ii) is found on rented premises after the

expiration or termination of the tenancy agreement,

(iii) is found on premises after the owner has sold

or vacated the premises,

(iv) has been left by the owner in the care of

another person, establishment or facility and has not been retrieved from that

other person, establishment or facility for more than 4

days after the agreed-upon retrieval time, or

(

v) has been left for more than 24 hours without

adequate food, water or shelter;

(2) Paragraph 2(1)(

g) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(g) "distress" means

(

i) being

in need of proper care, water, food or shelter,

(ii) being in need of

reasonable protection from heat or cold, appropriate to the animal,

(iii) being sick, injured, abused or in pain or

suffering undue or unnecessary hardship, privation or

neglect,

(iv) being confined to an area that is unfit or has

insufficient space, lighting or ventilation,

(

v) suffering undue or unnecessary anxiety or

distress,

(vi) being deprived of veterinary care or medical

treatment,

(vii) being kept in conditions that contravene the

standards of care prescribed in the regulations,

(viii) being confined in unsanitary conditions,

(ix) being deprived of the opportunity for adequate

exercise,

(

x) being kept on premises with another animal

that may have an adverse impact on the animal, or

(xi) having been abandoned by the owner in a manner

likely to cause distress;

(3) Paragraph 2(1)(

t) of the Act is repealed and

the following replaced:

(t) "owner", in respect of an animal,

means

(

i) a person who has

possession, custody, care, management or control of

the animal or who is the owner of the property, house, premises or part of a

premises where an animal is kept or permitted to live or remain,

(ii) a person who had possession, custody, care, management or control of the animal immediately before the

animal was seized, taken into custody or abandoned,

(iii) a parent or guardian of a minor who is an

owner of the animal, or

(iv) any other person who at law has responsibility

for the animal;

2. Subsection 3(2) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "he or she" and substituting the words "the

minister".

3. Subsection 13(3) of the Act is amended by

(

a) deleting the words "his or her" and

substituting the words "the inspector's"; and

(

b) deleting the words "him or her" and

substituting the words "the owner".

4. Subsection 14(2) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "him or her" and substituting the words "the

owner".

5. (1) Subsection 16(3) of the Act is amended by

(

a) deleting the words "he or she" and

substituting the words "the Provincial Court judge"; and

(

b) deleting the words "his or her" and

substituting the words "the person's".

(2) Subsection 16(4) of the Act is amended by

(

a) deleting the words "his or her" and

substituting the words "the person's"; and

(

b) deleting the words "he or she" and

substituting the words "the Provincial Court judge".

6. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 26 the following:

Prohibition -

declawing

26.1 A

person shall not declaw a cat, or permit a cat to be declawed, unless in the course of an accepted activity.

7. Paragraph 27(1)(

a) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

veterinarian's".

8. (1) Subsection 32(1) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

Dogs to be safely

contained

(1) An

owner of a dog shall keep it safely contained at all times .

(2) Subsection 32(2) of the Act amended by

deleting the words "need not be tethered or penned up" and

substituting the words "is not required to be contained".

Section 33 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Prohibition

livestock at large

33. An

owner shall not permit livestock to run at large without the consent of the

minister.

10. (1) Subsection 39(2) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "he or she" and substituting the words "the

person".

(2) Subsection 39(6) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "he or she" and substituting the words "the

person".

11. (1) Subsection 44(3) of the Act is amended by

(

a) deleting the words "he or she" and

substituting the words "the Provincial Court judge"; and

(

b) deleting the words "his or her" and

substituting the words "the person's".

(2) Subsection 44(4) of the Act is amended by

(

a) deleting the words "his or her" and

substituting the words "the person's"; and

(

b) deleting the words "he or she" and

substituting the words "the Provincial Court judge".

12. Subsection 49(1) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

minister's".

13. Subsection 58(3) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the word

"the".

14. Subsection 59(2) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "he or she" and substituting the words "the

minister".

Section 60 of the Act is amended by deleting

the words "his or her" and substituting the word "the".

16. Subsection 62(2) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the word

"the".

17. Paragraph 63(

a) of the Act is amended by deleting

the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

licensee's".

18. (1) Subsection 68(6) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

inspector's".

(2) Paragraph 68(7)(

a) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

inspector's".

(3) Paragraph 68(7)(

b) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

employee's".

(4) Subsection 68(11) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the word

"the".

19. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 71 the following:

Order of inspector

71.1

(1) Where

an inspector finds that a person is not in compliance with a provision of this

Act or the regulations, the inspector may order the person to comply with the

provision.

(2) An order issued under subsection (1) shall

(

a) set out any action that the person is required

to take in order to remedy the non-compliance; and

(

b) specify the time period

in which the person is required to comply with the order.

20. Subsection 72(14) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

minister's".

21. (1) Paragraph 73(2)(

b) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "his or her" and substituting the words "the

custodian in law's".

(2) Subsection 73(4) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "he or she" and substituting the words "the

person".

22. Subsection 76(1) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Offence

(1) A person who contravenes this Act or the regulations or an

order, licence or permit made under this Act or the

regulations is guilty of an offence and is liable on

summary conviction

(

a) where the offence is a first offence, to a

fine not exceeding $50,000 and, in default of payment, to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months, or to both a fine and

imprisonment; and

(

b) where the offence is a second or subsequent

offence, to a fine not exceeding $75,000 and, in default of payment, to a term

of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months, or to both a

fine and imprisonment.

Commencement

23. This Act, or a section,

subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of this Act,

comes into force on a day or days to be proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor

in Council.

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