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14 Tuesday September 1 2015 POLITICS ANIMAL PROTECTION www.rmwb.cachampions CITIZEN RECOGNITION PROGRAM 2015 Do you know an outstanding resident who deserves recognition by Mayor and Regional Council Wood Buffalo residents are invited to nominate fellow individuals or groups for their contributions to improve the community. Nominations are open until September 30 2015. Forms are available online and at your local municipal contact office. Visit www.rmwb.cachampions NWT receives low ranking for animal abuse laws By DALI CARMICHAEL Every year the Animal Legal Defense Fund ALDF ranks Canadian provinces and terri- tories in terms of their animal protection laws andonceagaintheNWThasbeenslottedinto the bottom tier. A new report released by the animal-rights organization ranked the NWT in 11th place in the country just above Quebec and Nunavut. Im not surprised but of course its disap- pointing said Nicole Spencer president of the NWT Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to AnimalsSPCA.Ourrankingwontchangeun- lessimprovementsaremadeandnosignicant improvements have been made so were going to be stuck in the third tier until that changes. TheALDFanAmericanorganizationbases its rankings on a 60-point list of legal protec- tions for animals. The report takes into con- sideration substantive protection laws which species are covered by those laws any exemp- tions breed-specic legislation animal abuse penaltiesmentalhealthevaluationsandcoun- sellingcost-mitigationandrecoveryentrysei- zure and inspection laws forfeiture and post- conviction possession rules reporting of sus- pected animal cruelty and immunity and law enforcement politics. Manitobaisnumberoneandwehavesimilar issueswithclimateandweatherandsmallcom- munitiesandthingslikethatSpencersaid.Why not follow what Manitoba is doing when were very similar Theres no reason that we cant. The biggest problems facing the NWT in re- gards to animal care come from a lack of legis- lation allowing ofcers to act on situations of neglect abuse or mistreatment according to both the report and Spencer. The ability for ofcers to enforce the law needs to improve Spencer said. The right to seize an animal on the spot they cant do that. I did not realize this but in other provinces and territories vets are required to report any sus- pected animal abuse and up here thats not a requirement. As well principal protection laws only exist to protect dogs no other species are covered by the NWT. Ithinkthebasicstandardofcareneedstobe improvedorchangedSpencersaid.Rightnow peoplethinkitsadequateenoughtohaveadog withahouseandabitoffood.Itsnotenoughit gets down to -50C in some places and dogs are outside and they dont have an insulated dog house they dont have straw they dont have enough food. Every year people nd dogs fro- zen to death either in their houses or outside their houses stuck to the ground and theyre so skinny.Ifdogsarentfedenoughtheycantpro- duce fat to keep warm so a skinny dog in -40C is going to freeze to death. The NWTs animal protection laws do cover some basic rights. Penalties for mistreated an- imals can lead to nes and incarceration and the penalties become more harsh with each of- fence. There are some actions that ofcials can take to protect mistreated animals including inspecting cases of alleged abuse with reason- able grounds. ButSpencersaidthereismuchtheNWTcan do to improve its animal care rating. For starters I think we need larger manda- tory nes and possible imprisonment for any kind of animal abuse Spencer said. If people know that theyre going to get ned 10000 or 50000 for animal abuse that might deter people...We also need to give ofcers the abil- ity to enforce the laws that we do have. Right now it seems like their hands are tied in many instances. Some like Hay River resident Bonnie Daw- sonhavefoughttochangetheselawsinthepast. Thanks to Dawsons efforts in a three-year bat- tle with the GNWT the NWT Dog Act became lawin2011thoughnotmuchhaschangedsince that time she said. At the same time the legislation nally be- camelawthemotionfortheGNWTtocontinue working towards the Comprehensive Animal Protection Act that I had been ghting for was approved. The half-measure step of the NWT DogActwasdescribedastherststepshesaid. As of this date no further work has been done bytheGNWTtolegislateacomprehensiveact. Untilatimewhentherulescanbeamended Spencer said the SPCA will continue doing its best to stand up for the territorys furriest resi- dents through educational campaigns and by offeringanimalhealthservices-includingspay- ing and neutering - to those living with pets in the more remote communities. Thebiggestwaythingswillchangeisthrough education and unfortunately because were limited in resources our education program is kind of on hold Spencer said. The mindset needs to change in communities in the North and that starts with teaching children about the value of their dog. Many people dont use them traditionally anymore so there needs to beanewvalueputondogsandthatneedstobe educated to people. FormoreontheALDFreportheadtohttp aldf.orgpress-roompress-releases2015-ca- nadian-animal-protection-laws-rankings. ThemindsetneedstochangeincommunitiesintheNorth and that starts with teaching children about the value of their dog. Many people dont use them traditionally anymore so there needs to be a new value put on dogs and that needs to be educated to people. Nicole Spencer NWT SPCA