Humane society to expand animal advocacy by hiring lawyer

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This article was published 30/05/2023 (328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Humane Society is seeking to amp up its lobbying efforts by investing in its first full-time animal rights lawyer.

The non-profit organization updated its mandate several years ago to include a responsibility to act as a representative for all animals in Winnipeg (rather than just domestic pets).

It has since grown an advocacy arm — and a need for someone with an understanding of provincial and federal legislation on animal welfare became clear, chief executive officer Jessica Miller said Tuesday.

While it currently employs an animal welfare specialist, along with the volunteer-based protection committee that looks at legislation and lobbies government, it has not been enough to keep up with similar groups that have lawyers on staff, including the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals branches in B.C. and Quebec, she said.

“Something that gets talked about very often is, ‘What is our role here? What should it be?’” Miller said.

“It is under one of our strategic pillars to make sure that we are standing our ground for all animals and not, I guess it could be called speciesism, deciding which animals deserve more and how and in what ways?”

The job position was posted May 19, and will remain open until it is filled.

Society supporters may have seen its calls for the federal government to end the horse exportation industry and, more recently, a campaign on chicken egg production conditions.

“There’s been a gap between us going on social media and trying to get supporters to help us change legislation versus an animal welfare lawyer who could look at the law to find any gaps for us,” Miller said.

“So (the organization is) just trying to streamline that process a little bit more and encompassing all of the animals that we want to deal with, beyond companion animals.”

The new position, like everything else at the Winnipeg Humane Society, is donor-funded.

“Ultimately, we do see all animals come through our doors. In terms of exotic animals, we have had seizures of 30 birds coming in at one time… Although lot of the work that we do is for dogs and cats… there is a much wider branch that we’re actually doing,” Miller said.

There are only a few animal welfare organizations with in-house lawyers, making the Manitoba posting a relatively new idea.

The fact that it is full-time speaks to how the approach to animal rights action has changed in Manitoba and beyond, said Kevin Toyne, a lawyer who sits on the WHS animal protection committee.

“For the longest time, you weren’t able to really make your practice focused on animals, because there simply wasn’t enough work or there wasn’t enough work that we’d be able to sustain a practice and a family, and that’s slowly starting to change,” he said.

“And I think that’s a really good indicator that society’s views are really starting to change on how we treat and deal with animals.”

Whoever takes on the position will be tasked with strengthening the Animal Care Act in Manitoba, which Toyne called overdue for a modernization. It was last updated in 1998.

“When that happened, the government talked about Manitoba being on the forefront of animal protection laws in Canada, but we have certainly not kept up,” he said.

Among the potential duties are lobbying the federal government to update criminal code provisions dealing with animal cruelty or, on a smaller scale, working with Manitoba municipalities on animal-related bylaws, Toyne added.

D’Arcy’s Animal Rescue Centre founder D’Arcy Johnston said any step that could bring the province closer to bringing those who mistreat animals to justice is a good one.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “Something that should have been done years and years ago… An advocate for animals in the legal position — that’s a good way to start and a good way to get possible bills in the Parliament to get things passed.”

“I think it’s great… Something that should have been done years and years ago.”–D’Arcy Johnston

Winnipeg-based D’Arcy’s ARC (which is currently full, with a compliment of 140 animals) regularly works with the province on cases of animal abuse, Johnston said.

He hopes whoever takes on the position will advocate for stricter spay and neuter laws in the capital city, and more severe penalties for people who abandon or abuse any animals.

“There’s a huge amount of overpopulation still in the city, and it’s increased so much since the (COVID-19) pandemic that none of the shelters have space for anything right now… It’s out of control,” Johnston said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca