Give N.W.T. animal law more bite, MLA urges assembly

Members of the Northwest Territories legislature are looking at updating the territory's Dog Act, but one MLA says the government should just replace the act with new animal protection laws.

Enacted in 1988 but based on laws dating back to the 1950s, the Dog Act is the N.W.T.'s only legislation that addresses the treatment of dogs.

Among other things, the current act carries a $25 fine for not feeding a dog.

As well, conviction under the act can be difficult, as authorities would have to prove someone's intent in neglecting dogs.

Work is now underway on a discussion paper on amending the Dog Act, Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Robert McLeod told the legislative assembly Thursday.

But Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley said simply amending the act is not good enough.

"This is a half-cooked idea, just tweaking the Dog Act," Bromley told the assembly Thursday.

"We need an animal rights act."

Bromley said he wants legislation that applies to both pets and working animals, such as sled dogs. He also called for harsher penalties, such as preventing repeat offenders from owning animals in the future.

"The vast majority of people recognize the important relationship these animals play in our lives and treat them with the respect they deserve," Bromley said.

"However, from time to time, an appalling violation of the terms of human decency will occur typically one that could be prevented with the development of appropriate legislation and implementation of enforcement provisions."

A June 2008 report by the U.S. group Animal Legal Defence Fund ranked the Northwest Territories in the bottom tier of Canadian provinces and territories for its animal protection laws.

"No, we're not comfortable being at the bottom tier nobody likes to be in the bottom tier and we're hoping to move our way up there," McLeod said.

The push to change the N.W.T.'s dog legislation came in light of several high-profile cases involving neglected dogs in the past few months, including the grisly discovery in December of weak and dead sled dogs in a yard in Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T.

RCMP chose not to lay charges against Randall Pokiak, the dogs' owner. His brother has told CBC News that the dogs were sick, not neglected.