Maggie Shuter, Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals logistics coordinator, tends to dogs at the SPCA in Montreal on Oct. 7, 2008. Quebec is in the doghouse again with the U.S.-based Animal Legal Defence Fund. The organization puts Quebec near the bottom of its rankings of Canadian animal protection laws and calls it the best province in which to be an animal abuser. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
July 09, 2012 - 3:44 PM
MONTREAL - Quebec is in the doghouse again with the U.S.-based Animal Legal Defence Fund.
The organization puts Quebec near the bottom of its rankings of Canadian animal protection laws and calls it the best province in which to be an animal abuser.
It's not the first time Quebec has been awarded the dubious distinction — it was dubbed the same way by the group in 2011.
Nunavut is at the bottom of the list among Canadian jurisdictions.
Other provinces fare better — Manitoba is on top, followed by British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Quebec tightened its animal protection laws in 2011, taking aim at the province's booming puppy mills.
The province was given the power to close kennels where abuse was happening, while fines were increased and standards set for euthanasia.
The Animal Legal Defence Fund wants Quebec to toughen its laws further in a variety of ways, including broadening its protection beyond cats and dogs and going after animal fighting.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012