Canadian actor Luka Magnotta recently made headlines for allegedly murdering and dismembering international student Lin Jun.
Before the murder, Magnotta was on animal abuse organizations' radar as a suspect for kitten torture videos that began to surface in 2010. Unfortunately, Magnotta's alleged animal cruelty was not a strong enough crime for him to be prosecuted.
Loopholes in Canada's current laws allow animal killers to argue that animals died quickly, or that the killing was necessary. Animal cruelty laws are currently listed in the "Crimes Against Property" section of Canada's Criminal Code. Canada's animal cruelty laws have not been amended in over two years, allowing abusers to carry on with their cruel actions unpunished or after paying a small fine.
Serial killers have a history of abusing animals before moving on to human victims. Please urge the Canadian government to close loopholes in their Criminal Code to protect animals and possibly save human lives.
Dear Mr. Rob Nicholson,
We, the undersigned, are concerned with Canada's current animal cruelty provisions under the Criminal Code. Loopholes in the current laws allow animal abusers to carry on with no or minimal penalty, as it is practically impossible to prove that killing and harming animals is "willfull" and "unnecessary" in its intent.
A current Harris/Decima poll shows that Canadians are overwhelmingly supportive of stronger animal cruelty amendments. Please act in the animals' and Canadian citizens' best interests and amend the current laws in the following ways:
- Recognize that animals can feel physical and emotional pain, and move animal cruelty laws out of the Crimes Against Property section of the Code.
- Remove a loophole that allows abusers to escape prosecution if it can't be proven that the animal was "willfully" or "unnecessarily" abused.
- Remove a loophole that allows abusers to escape prosecution if they claim that the animals died quickly and didn't suffer much.
- Make the vicious killing and abuse of animals a more serious crime.
In light of the recent events concerning Luka Magnotta, and past evidence of animal abusers going on to abuse or kill human victims, we believe that stronger animal protection laws may save human lives in addition to protecting animals. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider our petition.
