Quebec measures fight animal cruelty

The Quebec government has announced a series of measures aimed at curbing its reputation as the puppy mill capital of North America.

The move follows the release Wednesday of recommendations from a task force created by the government in February in the wake of outcry over a series of high-profile raids on puppy mills in the province by the Montreal SPCA.

The animal-care organization rescued hundreds of dogs living in squalid conditions and visibly suffering from neglect.

"These images are seen across North America and around the world, so I think we have to attack those situations," said task force chairman and Jacques-Cartier MNA Geoff Kelley.

Quebec needs to catch up to its neighbours, Kelley said. The province has only five animal-welfare inspectors, while there are 200 in Ontario, where illegal breeders face fines of up to $60,000.

Quebec Agriculture Minister Claude Béchard said the government would follow through on all of the task force's recommendations.

"I think we have to get a lot more serious," Béchard said. "When you look at Ontario, we want to be approximately the same level."

The new measures include:

• Hiring 15 new inspectors through agreements with the province's Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals.
• Investing $1 million to improve facilities at the SPAs and SPCAs.
• Drawing up rules setting out norms for the care of pets.
• Increasing fines for animal abuse.
• Continuing work with the Task Force on Companion Animal Welfare.

Hiring additional inspectors would cost up to $500,000, the agriculture minister said.

First step

Béchard said so far there is no consensus on how to proceed on a campaign promise made by his Liberals during last year's provincial election — the creation of a registry of breeders and shelters. More consultations would be needed, he said.

Kelley said the registry is essential.

"If I have a registry, I know where the breeders are — I know where the shelters are. And, if there's a barn on a back road where there are dogs that bark day and night, and it's not in the registry, that would be an additional reason for an inspector to pay a visit," Kelley said.

Animal welfare groups welcomed the government's announcement but said they don't think the government's relatively modest measures will eradicate the problem.

"A lot of the recommendations seem vague," Humane Society International spokesman Nikolas Gour said.

"We'll want to see what comes of it in the future."