Results
| Title | Citation | Alternate Citation | Summary | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prasad v. Wepruk | 2004CarswellBC946 | 2004 BCSC 578 |
Plaintiff Prasad, an elderly newpaper-deliverer, was attacked in the street by defendant owner Wepruk's usually chained guard-dog, which escaped due to a rusted chain. The court found the defendant strictly liable under the doctrine of scienter's subjective test: he knew the dog was aggressive, but kept it anyway and it harmed Prasad. He was also liable under the objective test for negligence, for not taking reasonable precautions to ensure the dog's chain was in good repair, in order to prevent foreseeable harm to others. damages of $35,000 were awarded for Prasad's injuries and lost future earnings. |
Case |
| Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador Statutes - Animal Health and Protection Act | SNL 2010, c A-9.1 | This act replaces the Newfoundland and Labrador Animal Protection Act, Dog Act, Heritage Animals Act, Livestock Act, Livestock Health Act and the Poultry and Poultry Products Act. Anyone convicted of animal cruelty or neglect may face up to $50,000 in fines or six-months jail time; a person may also face a lifetime ban on owning an animal. The text consists of 82 sections divided into 10 Parts, which include: Animal health (I); Animal protection (II); Nuisance animal (III); Heritage animals (IV); Licensing (V); Regulation and fees (VI); Inspector’s power (VII); Offences and penalties (VIII); General (IX); Repeal and commencement (X). | Statute | |
| Canada - Ontario - Ontario Statutes - Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act | R.S.O. 1990, c. O.36, s. 1 - 19 |
This set of laws comprises Ontario, Canada's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The object of the Society is to facilitate and provide for the prevention of cruelty to animals and their protection and relief therefrom. The laws outline the requirements for formation and operation of the Society as well as the guidelines under which members can assist animals in distress. Section 15 provides the standards of care for keeping cats or dogs for breeding or sale. 2015 amendments include the prohibition on the sale, purchase, and breeding of orcas. |
Statute | |
| Friesen v. Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals | 2008 CarswellSask 438 | 2008 SKQB 150 |
An animal protection officer received a complaint that two dogs were not receiving proper care. Officer Barry Thiessen, an animal protection officer employed by the S.S.P.C.A., observed that dogs appeared malnourished and in distress from lack of food and water. Upon returning the next day, Thiessen determined that the conditions were unchanged and the dogs were then seized pursuant to the warrant. The appellant dog owner brought an application for declaration that the officer seized dogs in contravention of an owner's rights under s. 8 of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and in excess of officer's authority. In dismissing his application, the court found that the warrant was lawfully obtained pursuant to provisions of the Animal Protection Act, 1999. The officer had a legitimate reason to come to property of the dog owner to investigate after he received a complaint, and it was there that he saw the dogs’ condition in "plain view" according to the court. |
Case |
| Canada - Yukon Statutes - Dog Act | R.S.Y. 2002, c. 59 | This set of laws comprises the Yukon Dog Act. The law provides that an owner must keep his or her dog fed and watered and not punish it to an extent that is cruel or unnecessary. Dogs found at large contrary to the Act are impounded for a period of five days for owners to reclaim them. The Act also states that a person may kill a dog that is running at large in the act of pursuing, worrying, injuring or destroying cattle, horses, sheep, pigs or poultry. | Statute | |
| Canada - P.E.I. Statutes - Companion Animal Protection Act | S.P.E.I. 2001, c. 4, s. 1 - |
This set of laws comprises the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Companion Animal Protection Act. The object of this Act is to protect companion animals from abuse and neglect and to license and regulate the activities of companion animal establishments. Under the Act, no person shall wilfully cause a companion animal unnecessary pain, suffering or injury or permit it to be in distress. Any companion animal that is at large and or appears to be in distress may be caught and taken possession of by a person who is not the owner of the companion animal. Every person who fails to comply with this Act or the regulations is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $5,000. |
Statute | |
| R. v. McConkey | 2008 CarswellAlta 156 | 2008 ABPC 37, [2008] A.W.L.D. 3238, 438 A.R. 87 |
In this case, the defendants pleaded guilty to violations of the Animal Protection Act after a peace officer for the humane society found four dogs in distress due mainly to a lack of grooming. On appeal, the defendants did not contest the amount of the fines, but suggested that the court should consider the economic status of the defendants (both were on government assistance). The court found that the conduct of the defendant and the level of the distress experienced by the dogs over a long period of time was an aggravating factor in determining the fine. With regard to a Section 12(2) prohibition to restrain future animal ownership, the court was reluctant to inflict stress on the animals still residing at the home by removing them from their long-time home. |
Case |
| Canada - Ontario - Dog Owners' Liability Act | R.S.O. 1990, c. D.16, s. 1 - 20(4) | This Ontario, Canada set of laws comprises the Dog Owners' Liability Act. The main thrust of the law is to establish that an owner is liable for damages if his or her dog bites or attacks another person or domestic animal. Proceedings may be commenced in the Ontario Court of Justice against an owner of a dog if it is alleged that the dog attacked or bitten another person or domestic animal, or if the dog has behaved in a manner that poses a menace to the safety of persons or domestic animals. A court may then order the destruction of the dog, or measures for more effective control of the dog (leash restraint, muzzling, etc.). The Act also bans the owning, breeding, importing, or transferring of pit bull dogs in Ontario, save for dogs grandfathered in before the Act took effect in 2005 (then the dog is a "restricted pit bull" subject to further laws). | Statute | |
| Canada - Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act | S.N.S. 1998, c. 18, s. 174 - 179 |
Certain sections (ss.175-179) of this Nova Scotia statute deal with dog ownership, and the consequences for failing to control a dog, or harm to people or property. |
Statute | |
| Harvard College v. Canada (Commissioner of Patents) | 2002 SCC 76 | [2002] 4 S.C.R. 45 |
The respondent applied for a patent on an invention entitled “transgenic animals”. In its patent application, the respondent seeks to protect both the process by which the "oncomice" are produced and the end product of the process, i.e. the founder mice and the offspring whose cells contain the oncogene. The process and product claims extend to all non‑human mammals. The process claims were allowed by the Patent Examiner, while the product claims were rejected. The appellant Commissioner confirmed the refusal of the product claims. The Federal Court, Trial Division, dismissed the respondent’s appeal from the appellant’s decision. At the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court held the appeal should be allowed. A higher life form is not patentable because it is not a “manufacture” or “composition of matter” within the meaning of “invention” in s. 2 of the Patent Act . |
Case |