21 chevaux morts de faim - 101 autres sauvés d'un ranch

[Animal 0]

Alberta (Canada)

21 chevaux sont morts de faim - 101 autres ont été sauvés d'un ranch. Des survivants seront mis en adoption, d'autres seront vendus à l'encan et abattus pour leur viande

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March 9, 2008 -

An animal welfare organization seized 101 starving horses from an Alberta ranch, but it was too late for 29 others that died of appalling neglect.

Nilsson Bros. was asked by the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to seize the surviving horses and take them to its feedlot to recover and prepare for auction, the auctioneer said Sunday.


One of 101 horses rescued from a central Alberta farm where 29 prized Arabian horses starved to death. Some of the surviving horses will be adopted and others will be slaughtered.
(CBC)
"We do whatever we can to get the animals fixed up," said Garth Rogers, a manager at Nilsson Bros. "I have zero compassion for people who don't feed them."

The animals, mostly Arabian horses, were rescued in late February from a ranch near Andrew, about 100 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, owned by Axel Hinz-Schleuter.

In August 2005, the SPCA fined Axel Hinz-Schleuter $1,000 after repeated warnings to take better care of the animals. According to an Alberta SPCA newsletter, the horses were so underfed that "many were in distress."

Cody Hrehorets, who transported the surviving animals, described their living conditions at the ranch as appalling.

"They didn't have any feed or water or nothing. But the worst part was the barn — it was so full of manure that you couldn't stand it and the ammonia smell was actually killing animals."

The Alberta SPCA was unavailable for comment and the RCMP has not announced an investigation. Calls to Axel Hinz-Schleuter were not answered.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/03/09/alta-horses.html

[Caro18 0]

Abattus pour leur viande

[Caro18 0]

Canadian Federation of Humane Societies

www.cfhs.ca



Government prepares to pass outdated animal cruelty bill
that would not help starved Alberta horses


Ottawa, March 11, 2008 – The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) is outraged that inadequate federal animal cruelty legislation is poised to pass in the House of Commons over the coming weeks.

The tragic case last week-end of the 29 deceased horses and 101 malnourished horses found on an Alberta ranch is a prime example of the problem with Canada’s current animal cruelty law. Such cases of serious animal neglect are virtually impossible to successfully prosecute due to the ineffective and inadequate wording of the law. The term ‘wilful neglect’ requires proof that the accused person actually intended to neglect their animals – something that is very hard to prove.

Today’s animal cruelty law dates back to 1892 and is ineffective and inadequate. “It’s unacceptable that an owner who is responsible for 29 animal deaths could walk away from such horrendous animal suffering because of a loophole in the law” says Shelagh MacDonald, Program Director of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.



Bill S-203 is a private member’s bill from the Senate that will amend the animal cruelty section of the Criminal Code. This bill only increases penalties for animal cruelty crimes, but it does not close the serious loopholes that allow so many animal abusers to escape prosecution. Bill S-203 passed the Senate last year and is approaching final passage through the House of Commons. Despite enormous opposition from Canadians, with 130,000 signatures on petitions, all parties in the House except the NDP are supporting this wholly inadequate bill. Many politicians have acknowledged that Bill S-203 doesn’t do enough but they say it’s better than nothing.



Ms. MacDonald continued: “It is a shocking contempt of our democratic process that this bill is poised to be enacted. It will do nothing to improve protection for abused animals in Canada.”



This Alberta case will likely be prosecuted under the Alberta Animal Protection Act, rather than the Criminal Code. Alberta is one of several provinces that have strong provincial animal protection acts so the Criminal Code is rarely used in those provinces. However if the accused were to leave the province, his criminal record would not go with him as provincial convictions are not recognized out of province.



About the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies
As the national voice of humane societies and SPCAs in Canada, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies focuses on animal welfare, not animal rights. As the only national voice of Humane Societies/SPCAs across Canada, the CFHS supports its member animal welfare organizations across Canada in promoting respect and humane treatment toward all animals through public education, national animal welfare initiatives and the enactment of legislation to reduce animal cruelty.



For more information, please contact:
Christine Chéné
Communications Coordinator, CFHS
Tel: 613-224-8072 ext. 12
christinec@cfhs.ca