B-3.1 - Animal Welfare and Safety Act

Section 1 Disposition versions

2021-06-11

1. The purpose of this Act is to establish rules to ensure the protection of animals with a view to guaranteeing their welfare and safety throughout their lives.

For the purposes of this Act,

(1)  “animal”, used alone, means

(a)  a domestic animal, being an animal of a species, a subspecies or a breed that has been chosen by man to meet certain needs, such as cats, dogs, rabbits, cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens, and their hybrids;

(b)  red foxes and American mink kept in captivity for breeding purposes with a view to dealing in fur, as well as any other animals or fish, within the meaning of the Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife (chapter C-61.1), that are kept in captivity for breeding purposes with a view to dealing in fur or in meat or other food products, and that are designated by regulation;

(c)  any other animal to which the Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife does not apply and that is designated by regulation;

(2)  “companion animal” means a domestic or wild animal living with a human, in particular in their home, as a companion and for enjoyment purposes;

(3)  “equine” means a domestic donkey, a miniature donkey, a domestic horse, a mule, a pony or a miniature horse;

(4)  “animal care expenses” means the costs incurred to seize an animal or to take an abandoned animal or an animal that is the subject of an order into care, including the costs incurred to provide veterinary care, treatment and medication, and to transport, slaughter, euthanize or dispose of the animal;

(5)  “biological needs” means the basic physical, physiological and behavioural needs related to such factors as the animal’s species, subspecies, race, age, stage of growth, size, level of physical or physiological activity, sociability with humans and other animals, cognitive abilities and state of health and those related to the animal’s capacity to adapt to the cold or heat or to bad weather;

(6)  “inspector” means a veterinary surgeon, an agrologist, an analyst or any other person appointed by the Minister under section 35;

(7)  “judge”, used alone, means a judge of the Court of Québec or of a municipal court or a presiding justice of the peace; and

(8)  “person” means a natural person, a legal person, a partnership or an association without legal personality.

2015, c. 35, s. 7; 2021, c. 24, s. 97.

2015-12-04

1. The purpose of this Act is to establish rules to ensure the protection of animals with a view to guaranteeing their welfare and safety throughout their lives.

For the purposes of this Act,

(1)  “animal”, used alone, means

(a)  a domestic animal, being an animal of a species or a breed that has been chosen by man to meet certain needs, such as cats, dogs, rabbits, cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens, and their hybrids;

(b)  red foxes and American mink kept in captivity for breeding purposes with a view to dealing in fur, as well as any other animals or fish, within the meaning of the Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife (chapter C-61.1), that are kept in captivity for breeding purposes with a view to dealing in fur or in meat or other food products, and that are designated by regulation;

(c)  any other animal to which the Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife does not apply and that is designated by regulation;

(2)  “companion animal” means a domestic or wild animal living with a human, in particular in their home, as a companion and for enjoyment purposes;

(3)  “equine” means a domestic donkey, a miniature donkey, a domestic horse, a mule, a pony or a miniature horse;

(4)  “animal care expenses” means the costs incurred to seize an animal or to take an abandoned animal or an animal that is the subject of an order into care, including the costs incurred to provide veterinary care, treatment and medication, and to transport, slaughter, euthanize or dispose of the animal;

(5)  “biological needs” means the basic physical, physiological and behavioural needs related to such factors as the animal’s species, race, age, stage of growth, size, level of physical or physiological activity, sociability with humans and other animals, cognitive abilities and state of health and those related to the animal’s capacity to adapt to the cold or heat or to bad weather;

(6)  “inspector” means a veterinary surgeon, an agrologist, an analyst or any other person appointed by the Minister under section 35;

(7)  “judge”, used alone, means a judge of the Court of Québec or of a municipal court or a presiding justice of the peace; and

(8)  “person” means a natural person, a legal person, a partnership or an association without legal personality.

2015, c. 35, s. 7.