Alberta’s Animal Protection Act provides mechanisms to help mistreated animals and to hold negligent owners accountable for their actions. This primary piece of legislation, amended in 2006, is used to protect animals in Alberta.
Key aspects of the act include:
- a definition of distress
- detailed list of duties that must be performed by animal care providers
- powers of Peace Officers
- prohibition against abandoning animals
- other features
There are also provisions in the associated regulations that incorporate standards for animals used in research and higher education.
Definition of Distress
The act states that an animal is in distress if it is:
(a) deprived of adequate shelter, ventilation, space, food, water or veterinary care or reasonable protection from injurious heat or cold,
(b) injured, sick, in pain or suffering, or
(c) abused and subjected to undue hardship, privation or neglect.
The provisions for ventilation and space mean that animals kept in holding facilities are entitled to fresh air and sufficient room to carry out normal activities. The term “veterinary” is to clarify the type of care, and to ensure that animals receive proper medical attention when needed.
The requirement for reasonable protection from injurious heat or cold makes it an offense to fail to protect animals from extreme temperatures. The type of protection varies according to species, and sometimes by breeds within a single species. However, all species require some form of protection from the elements. Dogs left outdoors, for example, need a degree of protection dependent on their breed hardiness. Some livestock species such as pigs require enclosed structures, while windbreaks are acceptable for cattle and horses.
Animal Care Duties
The Act delineates the duties that must be carried out by anyone who owns or looks after an animal – i.e., they must:
(a) ensure that the animal has adequate food and water,
(b) provide the animal with adequate care when the animal is wounded or ill,
(c) provide the animal with reasonable protection from injurious heat or cold, and
(d) provide the animal with adequate shelter, ventilation and space.
This section was created as part of the amendments to the Act in 2006 and corresponds to the expanded definition of distress. By placing the duties in positive terms, it clearly defines the responsibilities of an animal owner and presents them in comprehensible terms. Rather than having to prove an animal is in distress, failure to perform these duties is now enough to be considered an offense. For instance, it’s much easier to see that an animal is not being given water to drink than to show that it is in distress from dehydration.
Powers of Peace Officers
The Act allows our Peace Officers to take an animal into custody or otherwise relieved of distress if the Officer is of the opinion – on reasonable and probable grounds – that the owner or caretaker is not likely to provide for the animal.
An example of how this helps: if a dog is left outside with no doghouse or other protection from extreme weather and the weather forecast calls for -30°C the next day, we can remove the dog and take it to a shelter before it is subjected to the bitter cold. This allows us to take a proactive approach to ensure animals do not become in distress.
Prohibition Against Abandoning Animals
An Officer can take an abandoned animal into custody – whether or not it is in distress. The conditions that comprise abandonment include being left more than 24 hours without adequate food, water or shelter, or being left behind by former tenants of a rental property.
Other Features of the Animal Protection Act
This act allows those who report suspected animal distress to be free from prosecution. It disallows any action from being taken unless the report was made maliciously or without probable grounds for the belief.
The Regulations associated with the Act incorporate parts of other provincial statutes that deal with animal welfare. This includes parts of the Livestock Transportation Regulations, the Livestock Market and Assembly Regulations, and the Motor Vehicle Act. The Regulations also include the standards set by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) which oversees the treatment of animals used in research and post-secondary education facilities.
The complete text of the current Act and Regulations are available through the Alberta Queen’s Printer at the following links: