Despite the fact that Canada passed a National Hunting, Trapping, and Fishing Heritage Day in late 2014, a bill is now on the table that would make a number of animal use activities liable to federal prosecution.
The Modernizing Animal Protections Act (Bill C-246) was introduced in the House of Commons in February by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine Smith (Toronto), purportedly to ban shark finning in Canadian waters and close other loopholes in animal cruelty. However, the private member’s bill extends beyond its stated intentions and has the potential to create havoc amongst the animal-use community.
Under the Bill, “Everyone commits an offence who, wilfully or recklessly, b) kills an animal, or being the owner, permits an animal to be killed, brutally or viciously, regardless of whether the animal dies immediately.”
Bill C-246 neither defines those terms nor provides exemptions for hunting, trapping and fishing activities.
Since 1999, 18 similar government and private members bills have been introduced, and all but two were defeated after considerable opposition by animal-based agricultural producers, First Nations, the outdoor community, medical researchers, major colleges and universities, fairs and exhibitions, and some religious groups.
The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association (CSIA) are among the organizations that faced down these bills, and are preparing to do so again. With animal rights activists already aligned behind the bill, the OFAH and CSIA encourage outdoor enthusiasts to make their views known to their MPs.
“We’re urging all Canadian anglers who enjoy the freedom of fishing with their families without fear of prosecution to contact their Member of Parliament to express their opposition to Bill C-246,” said Phil Morlock, CSIA government affairs chair.
“The OFAH and its colleagues in the animal-use community across the country have long been advocates of legislation and regulations that support the humane use of animals, and we are willing to support further change,” said Greg Farrant, OFAH manager of government affairs and policy. “However, the introduction of Bill C-246 jeopardizes the future of the animal-use community, with little regard for the economic and cultural impact that action may cause.”
If this passes and a bear comes into their yard ,kills their dog or worse.they cannot do a thing.It is not humane to kill it.so let it go,these people do not hunt or fish,because they play golf.Well I am sorry,I hunt,I eat the meat,I love the sport.they should worry more about the poor ,the vets.the people on pension.spend your money on them get them help.
Liberals. They have what it takes, to take what you have.
Better not see one of those idiots kill a fly or mosquito then as they could
also be charged. To take it even further, what about pest control? Hope
they don’t eat ANYTHING that contains meat of any kind, or wear leather,
have leather furniture or have leather seats in their cars. And that also goes for anything filled with down such as clothing, pillows or comforters. Oh ya, better not hit any animal while driving either.
this sucks they want to take away many canadians favorite pass time just because they are uneducated about hunting and fishing
OMG, we are ruled by a bunch of idiots.
On the one hand they want to ban people from from fishing and hunting and killing animals for meat, on the other hand they have no bones about importing 300.000 more Muslim “migrants/invaders” whose “religion” for all intents and purposes orders them to kill/displace us.
I am all for hunting (with a bow, with a gun, with a bird, etc. etc. any animal harvested from the wild had a better life than animals raised on a farm whose sole purpose is to get fat and head to slaughter), I’m all for fishing. I’m down with clubbing seals. But the second part of your statement has nothing to do with the first part, and if you didn’t notice; you’re racist and ignorant, and you’re feeding the arguments of people who are against fishing or hunting (who are arguably ignorant in their own right) because they might think that hunters and fishers are a bunch of uneducated rednecks disrespecting animals. Shame on you for spewing hate speech.
Halal (muslim religious) animal slaughter is the epitomy of animal cruelty. These liberals dont know what the fuck they want lol.
Wow. That’s one of the dumbest, most uneducated, racist arguments I have ever heard. Not even your mastery of quotation marks helps. I’ve been hunting and fishing for more than 40 years. Comments like yours embarrass me.
When they stop the factory farms from torturing and murdering millions of animals DAILY then Ill worry about a worm on my hook!
I wonder how those Liberal anglers & hunters feel now.
Ignorant Liberals at it again!
If they make hunters and fisherman criminals…it will give them a reason to confiscate guns and fishing tackle,close down all outfitters and many businesses that supply us. I will NEVER quit fishing. NEVER
you folks know our legal system works in a layering manner right?
example,
Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8
170. (1) No person shall park, stand or stop a vehicle on a roadway,
except in exception to
136. (1) Every driver or street car operator approaching a stop sign at an intersection,
(a) shall stop his or her vehicle or street car at
a marked stop line or, if none, then immediately before entering the
nearest crosswalk or, if none, then immediately before entering the
intersection.
so obviously if one is legally allowed to kill an animal through means of a hunting or fishing permit, they will be allowed to do so.
but i mean, stupid liberals right?
you folks know our legal system works in a layering manner right?
example,
Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8
170. (1) No person shall park, stand or stop a vehicle on a roadway,
except in exception to
136. (1) Every driver or street car operator approaching a stop sign at an intersection,
(a) shall stop his or her vehicle or street car at
a marked stop line or, if none, then immediately before entering the
nearest crosswalk or, if none, then immediately before entering the
intersection.
so
obviously if one is legally allowed to kill an animal through means of a
hunting or fishing permit, they will be allowed to do so.
but i mean, stupid liberals right?
how can someone with a license to fish and hunt actually fall under this bill? Isn’t this article attempting to cross the line a little and make nothing into something that really isn’t true???
WOW are they for firkin real, my goodness they say it’s cruelty bull crap we call it surviving off the land. I will eat a fresh caught fish from lake Vernon here in Huntsville that eat organically, than eat a fish raised in a so called “fish farm”. The so called fish that are raised with pellets for food, what is in the pellets Having a tradition like fishing taken away from every CANADIAN is WRONG, this not only teaches us that we can provide fresh fish for dinner or lunch but fishing also teaches our younger generation about nature and respect for nature as well as the ecosystem and the food chain. what’s next cattle, chickens, pork, smelts any living matter. Hey LIBERALS STAND UP TO THESE so called activist groups. Since when did CANADA become a communist activists country, they say don’t so we won’t and give in to these silly ideas. Where do they think their leather purses, and boots and coats came from a Cow had to die in an inhuman way think about that. STOP this Bill C-246 from passing.
well everybody jumps to panic, and oh no here come the liberals again, it would be nice if we paused and read what the bill intended to do and realize they have to tune it a little. We can all agree that shark fining is horrible, and so is dog fighting, and that is the aim of the bill. Now they have to figure out a way to stop that and still allow for hunting etc. They would never do away with hunting as it generates too much money in this country. So of you cool your jets and help them figure out a way to word that.
They had done away with bear hunting for stupid exaggerated reasons, nearly killing the outfitter industry…..only to bring it back for financial reasons years later. Sadly our government prefers to screw the outdoorsmen rather than standing up to enviromentalists, and then ,possibly fixing their errors in the future just before elections to make themselves look good. Examples to this are: The spring bear season canceled then reinstated. We paid for gun registration and it was enforced then canceled years later. Our sturgeon sport fishing was taken away rather than dealing only with the issue which was commercial overharvesting …still waiting for the to fix that screw up.
The worst part about this whole thing is that -Hunters, Fishermen, Trappers- they are the actual original environmentalists, but there opinions are no longer valid.
It should’ve been revised from the start. Instead here we are, with a proposed bill that doesn’t specify anything just yet.
Sorry to hear that, please take a look at the OFAH position on animal cruelty legislation https://www.ofah.org/issues/animalcruelty/ before you take that step.
If you have been in contact with government on both sides or legal advisors who know the criminal code my first question is who told you this would make fishing and hunting illegal. Who failed to tell you terms are not presented in a proposed bill? Lastly how come you are unaware the bill is already being revised to clearly state this will not effect legal hunting and fishing. I guarantee every person on here even if this bill passes it will not stop legal hunting and fishing!
Yes, in my eyes OFAH are two faced. Look at the spring bear hunt! They post that they were fighting for yard to reinstate it, when in fact they supported it in the beginning. Moose, wolf and now everything else around us is in danger. But what is OFAH doing to stop all this? The list goes one ,, Caribou? No economic impact studies. OFAH knows what this will do to the outdoor activities. Are they doing anything? I will not and many others will not support them.
you would think that with all their smarts in politics they would be able to figure that out on their own without our “redneck” help
Bill C-246 would destroy our historic culture of hunting and fishing that provides employment and three billion dollars annually to the economy. Sometimes I feel the inmates have taken over the asylam. This Bill is one of those times!
https://openparliament.ca/bills/42-1/C-246/
if you read the bill and or contact nathaniel you will discover none of this is facts but fear mongering… please read and if you have questions ask instead of spreading nonsense
You know whats funny these anti hunters complain about hunting but are the first to align their pockets with donations. Anti hunters have never taken a hunters education course to get the full picture that hunting is necessary to prevent over population of animals that kill people in highway collisions each year. Prevention of disease such as submitting deer heads into freezer locations across the province so Lime disease testing can be done because it can be passed on to other deer. Keeping the wolf population down so animals won’t become extinct to the area or province everything has to have balance in the forest and wildlife. Like grizzly/black bears if theres too many then theres more encounters with people camping and more attacks on people so too much of something isn’t good. Like I said it all needs a balance.
Wildfire is not a bad thing it is also a good thing because new growth grows from the dead growth which has turned to fertilizer from the fire in a forest and forest bottom. Which in return brings in more animals to an area as theres more food to eat.
Mother nature needs to balance things and we are apart of mother nature since the caveman and that will never change. People say it’s bear country thats the chance you take, well it’s our back country too and we have just as much right to enjoy it as they do but with caution.
Everything the government does is a money grab with a lot of grey areas in the regulations/governments website to do with anything online with big fancy wording that nobody understands. So you may think it’s good and it turns out to be bad because of the way they worded it and thats what people have to be worried about.
Bill C-246 proposes to create two new offences. The first offence contained in proposed subsection 182.1(1), regarding the killing or harming of animals, states that:
“Everyone commits an offence who, wilfully or recklessly,
(a) causes or, being the owner, permits to be caused unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal;
(b) kills an animal or, being the owner, permits an animal to be killed, brutally or viciously, regardless of whether the animal dies immediately;”
The contained phrases in the shown subsection is dangerously vague. Such that, law enforcement officials and policy makers who are charged with applying the intent of such criminal code offence, may want to err on the side of caution (or be encouraged to) and begin limiting acceptable (and self-sustaining) hunting practices, fishing practices and farming practices. And/Or (more likely and God forbid) begin introducing new tax legislation to accomplish this. I know, I know…. This section is aimed at animal abuse and cruelty and will not affect current farming, fishing and hunting traditions. However, if that is true then why isn’t their an exemption clause listing such activities that will not be affected (ie. Hunting, fishing, farming, etc…). ALWAYS be wary of vague legislation, especially if it has the potential to bite you in the ass because it may just end doing that.
How about Helping to amend this bill to make sure that all hunting, fishing, trapping rights, etc are protected. Looks like they left out some important definitions. The ban on shark fins and changes to animal cruelty offences need to happen. The wording just needs some help.
I am dead against Bill C-246.