New pet ownership and breeding regulations come into effect on Saturday across Quebec. The new laws include banning unnecessary surgeries such as declawing and ear clipping.
The SPCA says its been advocating for these new regulations for years and it’s been a long time coming in Quebec.
“Notably the end of declawing of cats, and of tail-docking and ear-cropping of dogs,” said the Montreal SPCA director of animal advocacy Sophie Gaillard
Breeders will be limited to owning no more than 50 animals, making it more difficult to operate puppy mills. They will also be required to ensure their animals receive regular exercise.
“These dogs and cats will now have to have a certain amount of time in which they are actively being socialized during which they can have exercise and opportunities to move about freely,” added Gaillard.
Veterinarian Dr. Enid Stiles couldn’t be happier, especially when it comes to banning unnecessary surgeries.
“We really want to promote natural appearances of animals,” said Dr. Stiles.
“By removing parts of their body, which is essentially what we are doing, we are not only changing their appearance, but also with the way they might be able to communicate,” she added.
Some pet owners don’t agree. But according to Dr Stiles, these types of opinions don’t surprise her.
“As many studies as there are, this is still questioned frequently,” she said. “We can reassure you there is no reason unless there is some kind of cancer or a tumour or a trauma to an ear, or tail, a toe should we ever be amputating those areas,” she said.
The SPCA says the next step is to encourage the public to file complaints about mistreatment of animals.
“We do hope that the ministry of agriculture, with this new regulation, will be very diligent in enforcing the new requirements,” said Gaillard.
Quebec is the second to last province to create these types of regulations and guidelines, with only Ontario remaining.