To : ministre@mapaq.gouv.qc.ca

Bcc : animal@spca.com 

Object : Regulation of the treatment of farm animals

Message :
Minister Lamontagne,

As a citizen concerned about animal welfare, I am writing to ask you to commit to regulating the treatment of farm animals. 

Many practices that seriously compromise the welfare of animals raised for food, and that have already been banned elsewhere in the world, remain widespread in Quebec. These practices include the confinement of animals in very small spaces (laying hens raised in battery cages, sows kept in gestation stalls, etc.), as well as systematic mutilation (castration, tail docking, partial beak removal etc.) without anesthesia or analgesia. 

Such practices are common in the agricultural sector, yet would be totally illegal if conducted on cats or dogs. This is because farm animals have barely any legal protection. Although there exists federal and provincial legislation governing their transport and slaughter, the way they are treated throughout their life, on the farm, is unregulated. 

In fact, the Animal Welfare and Safety Act excludes agricultural activities from its scope provided they are conducted ‘in accordance with generally recognized rules’. However, no such rules are defined in the Act. Thus, so long as a significant portion of the industry adopts a certain practice, it is automatically considered consistent with the ‘generally recognized rules’. It is therefore the industry itself that determines which practices are legal or illegal, regardless of the degree of suffering they inflict on animals. 

It’s time for Quebec to regulate the treatment of farm animals and ensure their welfare. 

I urge you to commit to enacting regulations governing the treatment of farm animals in Quebec. 

Sincerely,