Toward Animal Liberation - The New Anti-Cruelty Provisions in Canada and Their Impact on the Status of Animals

Authors

  • Lyne Letourneau

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/alr1350

Abstract

There has been a progressive change in western philosophical thought regarding animals. While animals were once regarded as objects, valuable solely in relation to their use to humans, there is now a substantial movement to recognize animals as inherently valuable and deserving of the same moral status as humans. Thus change in attitude is not reflected in amendments to the Criminal Code anti-cruelty provisions. Vie new provisions recognize that animals have the capacity to feel pain. However, the provisions do not protect animals independently of the benefits that animals provide to humans. Still categorized as property, animals do not share the moral status of humans. Further, under the new provisions, animals do not have legal rights. Therefore, despite changes in the law regarding animals, no animal liberation is taking place.

Downloads

Published

2003-04-01

Issue

Vol 40, No 4

Section

Forum: Bill C-10 and the Place of Animals in Canadian Law

License

For Editions following and including Volume 61 No. 1, the following applies.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

For Editions prior to Volume 61 No. 1, the following applies.

Author(s) retain original copyright in the substantive content of the titled work, subject to the following rights that are granted indefinitely:

  1. Author(s) grant the Alberta Law Review permission to produce, publish, disseminate, and distribute the titled work in electronic format to online database services, including, but not limited to: LexisNexis, QuickLaw, HeinOnline, and EBSCO;
  2. Author(s) grant the Alberta Law Review permission to post the titled work on the Alberta Law Review website and/or related websites.
  3. Author(s) agree that the titled work may be used for educational or instructional purposes and/or in educational or instructional materials. The author(s) acknowledge that the titled work is subject to other such "fair dealing" provisions and applicable legislation.
  4. Author(s) grant a limited license to those accessing the titled work from an electronic database or an Alberta Law Review website to download the titled work onto their computer and to print a copy for their own personal, non-commercial use, subject to proper attribution.

To use the journal's content elsewhere, permission must be obtained from the author(s) and the Alberta Law Review.