A Senate committee has passed a bill to grant parliament broad powers to criminalize possession of wild animals in Canada after a 9 to 3 vote. The bill, advocated for by Jane Goodall Institute in an April 2 petition referring to the bill amendment as “Noah’s Clause,” stirred up much controversy because affected industries had no opportunity to testify at committee, per Blacklock’s Reporter. The Fur Institute of Canada called it “deeply concerning” in a petition read into the record by Tory Sen. Donald Plett, senate opposition leader.“It is clearly a backdoor attempt to ban fur farming,” wrote the institute. Plett argued the fur industry should have had a chance to testify on the proposal at the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee.“This is not something we should take lightly and just bulldoze through and cut off debate. If this amendment is passed it will engage many stakeholders who have not been consulted,” Plett told the committee.Thursday’s vote amended Bill S-15 An Act To Amend The Criminal Code. The original bill restricted the captive breeding and capture of elephants and great apes under threat of a $200,000 fine. A cabinet amendment expanded the bill to criminalize the breeding of any “non-domesticated species” as designated by cabinet with exemptions for ranching and trapping.Tory Sen. Denise Batters called the measure a “massive amendment from the government sponsor on a government bill which basically blows this bill apart,” emphasizing the Impacts of this amendment were unknown.“We have not been able to hear from any witnesses about the impact of this,” said Batters. “Now we have this massive amendment that has potentially major implications for so many people in Canada, such a huge part of our economy.”The Jane Goodall Institute’s petition called for Noah Clause to grant MPs authority to add protections for wild species by executive order. “When the Noah Clause is in place we further unanimously support prioritizing all bears, all native big cats, all non-human primates, large constrictor snakes, venomous reptiles and crocodilians, species that have fallen between the legislative cracks for far too long,” it wrote.The World Animal Protection organization said cabinet orders could potentially affect “millions” of wild animals in captivity. “Currently in Canada there are millions of wild animals that live in captivity and only a small number of them are at facilities that attempt to operate in a manner that prioritizes animal welfare,” wrote the group. “The vast majority are currently keeping native and non-native wild animals for entertainment purposes, e.g. pet keeping and public display.”
