Charter of Rights and Freedoms, for Animals?

November 24, 2014 35d Comments

Ok, now I’ve heard of everything – a Charter of Rights and Freedoms for animals to call their own?

An  animal rights group from Canada has proposed the ground-breaking “Charter of Rights and Freedoms for Animals” as not only a way to further the protection of animals but (in my opinion) further the agenda of this one particular Animal Rights group.

An organization calling themselves ‘Animal Justice’ launched the idea which would “guarantee the rights and freedoms that make life worth living, and give all animals a chance to have their interests represented in court.”

What??

The group claims there is a huge gap between how Canadians care about animal welfare and how the legal system views it, and are hoping a petition draws the attention of policymakers. 

 According to the group’s lawyer: “A charter would give clear guidelines on how animals are to be treated and how we expect to live with them… free  from suffering, live meaningful lives which they can express natural behaviours and socialize.”

It actually took me a few seconds to check the calendar, as I was convinced it was April 1st and this was all a big joke.

Don’t get me wrong, I love animals and I’m a huge proponent of conservation and wildlife management, but come on now people, give your head a shake!

 

Outdoorsguy

 

35 thoughts on “Charter of Rights and Freedoms, for Animals?”

  1. jeff these people are morons they obviously don’t work and have lots of time on their hands lets put them up in the temagami forest and let them make friends with the animals hey i love dogs cats even some farm animals but come on , can you picture a goat in court popping out raisins all over the floor , he’s there because these people think it needs a bath

  2. When they write their own, after all, it should come directly from the them, I’ll read it and consider it, as long as it comes from a third party I’ll be sceptical LOL

  3. Doesn’t surprise me what some morons come up with. Make no mistake, these aren’t people who actually live outside of google, flakebook, and YouTube. Since when did ‘Natural behaviors’ of animals included a lawyer? Disclaimer: I am no expert on 4 legged litigations but do ya think this lawyer is having a tough time getting real clients? Likely hasn’t found a good whiplash lately.
    In summary, why isn’t there a tax on stupidity? Would take some of the burden off of the people who still have common sense. Don’t you think?

  6. There are “loop holes” in the system that allows those who abuse the animals to get by with the abuse. Its not so much that they are actually so ignorant that they expect the animal to speak for its self but ,say for example if an animal wasn’t getting fed ,then the witness, vet etc. involved speak on the animals behalf instead of the judge saying oh ok this guy wasn’t feeding this dog so the law says this is your fine – it can be oh ok this dog hasn’t been fed for months and was almost dead , you have X amount of time in jail -like with ppl it depends on the degree of abuse etc. So since little olé me had to explain such a “simple silly thing ” to big olé you – I’m closing this laughing at you ! GEEZE WHAT IDIOTS !!

  7. BTW – I find something wrong with men of such “caliber” have the need to sit and watch deer “mate” to figure out how it is done !!!

  8. I don’t normally address blog crashers but I will make an exception because you are special Shawna. First of all, I wholeheartedly agree with your point about people abusing animals, and not one person here condones cruelty or abuse to any animal, wild or domestic. So why do you come here with the assumption that we do? Because you are cruising looking to push your agenda.
    It’s city dwellers whose outdoor experience is a patio bar posting selfies to their favourite anti-social websites, and who believe they are ‘animal exerts because they have a fat cat that never sees the light of day other than a window, who start these initiatives. There is no thought given to the wider impact of forcing these blanket laws. These are the same people who want to ‘save’ the millions of garbage eating raccoons by live trapping and releasing them in rural areas for others to deal with instead of looking at the root cause.
    I for one believe anyone who abuses animals should be jailed, or better yet, subjected to treatment similar to what they inflict. No one here will argue that point but the discussion with you ‘experts’ never, ever, ends there. You ‘laugh’ at others who don’t share your infinite wisdom. The problem with people who invade blogs to force their point is that they do so without ever listening to other’s opinions which may differ than your own. (or may not, but how would you know?) It is your type who then pushes the boundary of animal rights to label home raising chickens for consumption as ‘cruel’, because eventually they have to be killed to be eaten. (I know what you are thinking, and yes, massive chicken farms may not treat their birds like your over fed cat, but laws are painted with a very wide brush.)
    In closing it would be nice if a wildlife expert such as yourself would stick around and share your studies because those of us who spend hours in the woods every week don’t get to see it often. We do know how it’s done though. Stick around and lets have a reasonable discussion.

  9. Shawna …ARE you F’ING kidding me…. of course there are loop holes in the system… a person can molest a boy or girl and get time served or no time at all in jail and when people scream they worry about a dog or a cat.. our system is messed up .. untill we can get our own justice system right, the animals are the last thing on the list … Yes, most hunters and people care about animals . but when you write laws to protect them they must be done with class not whats on your heart and whats right….

  10. We have 600+ acres we have to hunt on – during deer season we usually get 6 to 7 deer to feed 4 ppl through the year, nothing goes to waste we make burger ourselves out of the “junk” – not so many this year because of tag restrictions which is fine the conservation has issues to tend with such as disease etc. we believe they know what they are doing – you are not talking to someone that doesn’t know about the outdoors – I grew up in the “outdoors” and continue to enjoy it and what it has to provide – and while i’m sitting here I’m enjoying my coffee watching the squirrels on the feeder not far from the 11 point buck hanging in the near by tree – and I might add we have chickens and eat chicken- if you check into the subject above MANY ppl get a slap on the hand and get by with what they have done – and if you listen to what they have to say they make comments like ” well I was angry and I would get in trouble if I do it to a person so I beat the dog” our “animal laws” need to be adjusted so ppl fear going to jail if they beat the dog too- I watched a guy who starved cattle – he started out with 40 some cows – over 3 MO time he had 18 left – his reason I have no idea but he did laugh and say “the law won’t do anything about it” and the “law” allowed him to continue to have cattle but he is “supposed to ” report what he has and when he sells them, to the Ag dept – he had been turned in by several ppl for several yrs and this is what our “animal LAWS” do – so yes we need changes

    1. Ok Shawna, now you have me going!!

      You seriously harvest 6-7 deer on average, per year(where tags allowed) from a 600 acre piece of land??

      Im surprised you have any left??

      Do you not understand that deer numbers in eastern ON & Western QC are down and in need of rebuilding?

      Perhaps, instead of trying to save all the abused animals of the world, you might ‘practise what you preach’ and use some much-needed CONSERVATION on your own land!

      I don’t know of ANY hunt camps this fall who killed that many deer, and most of them pursue whitetails much larger tracts of land than you have.

      Your holier than now attitude won’t fly around here, especially when you spew such gibberish and then back it up with perhaps the most ignorant hunting admission I’ve heard this year!

      Outdoorsguy

  11. I’m thinking if your concerned about what the laws do for ppl also – then you should do your part to help the situation and and stop whining about it – or does the consist of getting up from your desk?

  12. This is part of the problem – you read what you want to see and are not thorough- not this year but yes we usually do ! and yes I am aware of the population issues that why we have tag restrictions THIS year.

  14. Apparently you guys have worse population issues where you are then we do – we have others that hunt on our land also – so on average there are 10 to 12 deer taken during season – and we don’t allow poaching so we are the “safe place” off season – we watch a herd of 8 bucks come up to feed during the summer – and we personally know our conservation agent – yes we see him in the store and he greets us by name – so we need no education from you on that subject

  15. Shawna, my apologies! I assumed you were a regular anti-hunter blog stalker busily preparing tofurkey for Thanksgiving dinner. We are your kind of people here so why are you coming in here with guns blazing? You know as well as I do that laws are created in Toronto, so be careful what you wish for. Our kids are fat, so they ban French fries and pop from school, and when they realize that doesn’t work they will probably legislate lipo-suction.
    If you see people abusing animals by all means do everything in your power to bring awareness locally, but don’t blindly push for all encompassing laws that will ultimately have you hiding your chickens, and buying fishing worms that have died of old age. You are a farmer, look what happened to all the good local meat cutters when the government got involved. I can’t legally kill my own beef and have to stress the animal by shipping it miles away, then starving overnight before it enters the assembly line where someone’s cousin Louie ‘inspects’ it and deems it safe. Why don’t I feel safer than when I was involved with the process?
    Besides, do you actually believe that a law will deter these people? A person either respects animals or they don’t, no laws will ever change that.

  16. Johan, I took a look at the Ontario Ministry or Agriculture and Food website. You actually can slaughter your own meat. There are some restrictions. Check out the site: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/food/inspection/meatinsp/resp-under-meat.htm
    The restrictions are somewhat onerous. For the most part, the distribution and/or transportation of un-inspected meat is illegal. You can’t take it off the farm and only your immediate family can consume it. You are absolutely not allowed to give it/sell it to anyone else. Looks like you are not even able to transport the processed meat home if you live away from your farm. I guess if that’s the case, you gotta bring the live beef home and slaughter it in the back yard… Boy, that could get the neighbours backs up in a hurry…. 🙂
    Several years ago I had a discussion with a farmer and this is in line with what he told me.

  17. i think she is dreaming when taking that many deer from such a small area i wonder where this area is , i watch deer all year and i know 3 of my mnr people very well and have spoken to over 15 hunting groups and there average is way down , if this winter gets bad they may not issue very many doe tags next year and yes shawna anyone hurting or being cruel to an animal should be shot in my opinion

  18. Herman, you see what I mean with all the fine print? I have no problem transporting the ‘uninspected’ meat but the bigger problem is the hanging and aging of beef and without coolers you can’t hang it properly for 21 days. They literally shut all those reputable little guys down. Best venison sausage maker I dealt with for years also put out of biz because they couldn’t afford 250k worth of upgrades to bring their shops to ‘government standards’. You think any of these guys whose livelihood depended on being clean, and cost effective were worse than the factory slaughter houses now? Not a chance and I believe there is a bigger risk now because of the knee-jerk government nanny who legislates what is best for us.
    Mike I don’t doubt what she is saying is true, and while the numbers are way down in my area too there are pockets where there seems to be more. My buddy’s house (closer to the city) for example. He fed deer all winter last year during that tough stretch and it seems they are still hanging around as his 50 acres filled 3 tags of his group, and there are still 4 or 5 deer hanging around. That’s a pretty small area with quite a few deer so a far cry from 600 acres.

  19. Had something strange happen this morning. Stranger than some of the comments on this blog. Shot a black duck at first light. There was ice out about 20 feet from shore, Went back to get a pair of chest waders. Upon my return a bald eagle flew off with the duck. .He made a hell of a retrieve,

  20. This is our “secret” – we occupy approx. 10 acres for us and stay out of the rest of the property – we don’t use it for livestock etc. we leave it wild and natural -we check our stands and do the repairs within a week in midsummer – we don’t use 4wheelers or atv we walk in quietly and leave quietly – during the “off season” we feed cattle/field pellets on the boarder of what we occupy and set up game cams over the feed to do a “head count”. Our stands are set up on their paths to the feeding areas – we stay completely away and out of the bedding and fawning areas. For scent cover up we “marinade” our clothing and boots in trashbags with leaves and tree branches that we collect from the stand areas when we do the stand repairs, it gives the clothing months to absorb the “natural” odors – and remember to use scent repellent on your socks before putting on your boots

    1. Shawna, you strike me as quite knowledge with regards to primitive hunting and homesteading skills..why would you have chosen to speak-out on a topic like Charter of Rights for animals?

      I’m just wondering…as johan pointed out, you see to be like us and subscribe to wildlife principles which entail the ‘wise use and management of renewable natural resources in order to benefit the most people for the longest period of time.”

      And of course..a deep respect for nature and fish & wildlife is an inherent part of that.

      Not to insult in anyway..but..you are a bit of a conundrum, would you agree?

      I am so glad now that you didn’t just run off…

      Outdoorsguy

  21. And we don’t shoot the “prize bucks” or does – we shoot what needs to come out of the “herd” – sort of the same idea of the cattle rancher keeping his “prize bull” and good cows for future breeding

  22. Actually – I was searching the news articles keeping up to date with the above subject – and came across your article and was insulted by the comments you made and the remarks that followed

    1. Shawna wrote; “..and came across your article and was insulted by the comments you made and the remarks that followed”

      I believe my flippant approach to the subject may, in some way, have been perceived as disrespectful towards animals which was certainly not my intention.

      And I apologize for that!

      In fact, If you were to read back on some of my previous material or posts, you’ll find I actually have a deep respect and fondness for animals and wildlife in general.

      This love of the outdoors and of conservation is what got me into outdoor writing in the first place…trust me, I was NOT drawn to journalism in any way..my background is fish & wildlife.

      Anyhow, I’m am hopeful that we may find ‘common ground’ and that you may discover a place to chat and chew that fat, as we sometimes do here.

      Outdoorsguy

  23. And you might say that I am that way – but you have to hit a nail real hard to get it started – compromise can be made later –

  25. Thanks to all those here who have written such superficial and ill informed comments. It demonstrates why rights for animals are needed. Read up on the rest of the world, where several countries already have laws like this, or are considering them. The author should indeed check the calendar – it’s the 21st century, not the 19th.

  26. I’ve been waiting for someone to comment on “Bill’s” comment. Nothing coming so here goes…
    While I’m not too sure exactly what Bill (maybe he’s one of the protesters) is alluding to, his comment about the author checking the calendar, at least to me, seems somewhat disparaging to Jeff. Kudos to Jeff for letting it past the “awaiting mediation” stage…
    I might add that I’m pretty sure that this was Bill’s first visit to this blog because if he would have been following it over the years, he would see that Jeff is not about animal cruelty at all. Neither are any of the contributors.
    I’d have to say that anyone, anyone at all, that believes that any animal strives for the goal of living a “meaningful life” or the goal to “socialize” – not to mention purporting to “represent their interests in court” – has their concepts on animal behavior skewed.

    1. Tks Herman…very well said!

      To be honest, I didn’t have time to get into it with “Bill”. I thought perhaps he might just leave…go do his homework, maybe read some of the other entries on my Blog, and then return with a more ‘informed opinion’. And if not, oh well…his loss!

      Hope all is well in your neck of the woods?

      Outdoorsguy

  27. Jeff, everything is pretty good…
    The deer hunt was tough. I know that many crews fared rather poorly. Collectively, our gang didn’t see many. Even my own “Stay long on watch, absolutely anything can happen at anytime” enthusiasm was challenged.
    Opening morning, pretty much first light, I let a bunch of does go, maybe 4 or 5 with some fawns, and never saw them again except the odd one (and odd decent buck) on the trail camera only in the dark. I only saw a few very small scrapes and one little rub all fall.
    I did have one real big doe come by two times, all alone, she seemed to know that I was in my blind but never spooked – just wary. It was great watching her. Hopefully she’ll bear twins in the spring.
    I was lucky enough to be able to take a little four pointer and a spike buck. We had a young lad on his first hunt in our gang this year. He was pretty proud to put his antlerless tag on a buck fawn. We ended up with three small animals between seven hunters. Not a pile of meat by any means but boy is it ever good. I’ll need a meat stretcher to make it last till next fall though.
    I can also proudly say that because of me there is one less coyote in their clan. Quick, clean shot at 175 yards. I don’t usually see many while on watch, this is only the second one in the last four years but so far I’m two for two. Hope to get out and trim the clan down some more…
    These days my camera is only recording very few does with fawns and the odd little buck sniffing around. Anytime there is a fresh snow fall, a stroll in the woods doesn’t produce nearly the amount of tracks that it did just a couple years ago. Most years I see plenty of deer throughout the hunt, this year not so. I wouldn’t say that the deer herd is in dire straits but there are definitely fewer out there. I guess judging by the general grumblings out there that’s not news by any stretch. I hope this winter turns out better for them.

    I’ve often wondered if, in years with lots of snow or ice crust, people with snowmobiles or farm tractors would pack down the lanes and trails they have in their bush to help give deer an “escape lane” from coyotes. I know the coyotes will use it as well but if the deer are on a stable pack, they should easily be able to out distance the coyotes. Maybe that’s a topic for another post…
    Anyway, keep up the good word!

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