Alanna Devine has a background in Animal Law. She completed her undergraduate degree in criminology at the University of Toronto and obtained degrees in civil and common law at McGill University Faculty of Law in Montreal, before clerking for the Honorable Justice Louise Charron at the Supreme Court of Canada. While a student she founded the McGill Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, [1] [2] a chapter of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. [3] She has been a member of the Law Society of Ontario since 2007.
For more than ten years, Alanna Devine was the legal director of Animal Advocacy at the Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. [4] She is also at the origin of legislative changes for animals in the province of Quebec, notably the amendment of the Animal Health Protection Act (Bill 51) [5] and the adoption of the act to improve the legal status of animals (Bill 54) [6] and the adoption of breed-neutral dangerous dog legislation, An act to promote the protection of persons by establishing a framework with regard to dogs (Bill 128). [7] At the municipal level, it was finally on her initiative that breed specific legislation in the city of Montreal was repealed and that pet stores are now obliged to sell only dogs, cats and rabbits from shelters. She is a frequent lecturer and media commentator on animal law issues. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
After her years at the SPCA, Alanna Devine was appointed director of Mercy for Animals in Canada and then political advisor to the mayor and the executive committee of the City of Montreal. In parallel with these activities, she has taught, animal law at McGill University's faculty of law, and lectures throughout North America on the legal and political status of animals in our society.
Alanna Devine and her work have been featured in publications and media outlets such as the Unbound Project, [13] a multimedia project co-founded by acclaimed photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur which features and celebrates women on the frontlines of animal advocacy. Her work was also highlighted in McGill University Faculty of Law's In Focus Magazine, [14] where she appeared on the cover and in articles from Droit Inc . [15] and the UK Center for Animal Law. [16]
The Faculty of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest law school in Canada. 180 candidates are admitted for any given academic year. For the year 2021 class, the acceptance rate was 10%.
William Warren Allmand was a Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament in the Parliament of Canada from 1965 to 1997. A member of the Liberal Party, he represented the Montreal riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from 1972 to 1979. As Solicitor General, Allmand introduced legislation that successfully abolished the death penalty in Canada in 1976.
A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate independently of each other and campaign for animal welfare, assist in the prevention of cruelty to animals cases.
Denis Coderre is a Canadian politician from Quebec. Coderre was the member of Parliament for the riding of Bourassa from 1997 until 2013, and was the Immigration minister from 2002 to 2003 and became the mayor of Montreal in 2013, but lost in 2017 to Valérie Plante. In 2021, he was defeated once again by Valérie Plante after a second mayoral race. He has been an administrator of Eurostar since 2018 and special advisor for the FIA since 2019.
The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a New Zealand charitable society who work to promote the humane treatment of animals. The society consists of 30 animal shelters and 6 vet partnerships around New Zealand, including many in regional areas. Under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, SPCA inspectors have the exclusive power to investigate animal welfare complaints and prosecute abusers when necessary. The Royal NZ SPCA has initiated a range of animal welfare campaigns. It has launched public education campaigns about the humane treatment of animals, and has encouraged people to change their behaviour towards animals. SPCA has also run advocacy campaigns aimed at promoting law changes or questioning the legality of certain practices.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund is an American animal law advocacy organization. Its stated mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. It accomplishes this by filing high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm, providing free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are punished for their crimes, supporting tough animal protection legislation and fighting legislation harmful to animals, and providing resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law. In addition to their national headquarters in Cotati, California, the Animal Legal Defense Fund maintains an office in Portland, Oregon.
The Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty (Nova Scotia SPCA) is a not-for-profit charitable society organized under the Animal Protection Act of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The Society is dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals and to the promotion of respect and humane care for animals. Its members are committed to providing humane leadership in animal advocacy, protection, education, and veterinary care.
Mary Elizabeth Dawson was a Canadian lawyer and civil servant who was the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada. She was appointed under the Parliament of Canada Act on July 9, 2007 as the Conflict of Interest Act came into force until her term of office came to an end on January 8, 2018.
Herbert Marx was a Canadian lawyer, university law professor, politician, and judge. He was a member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1979 to 1989, a cabinet minister, and a Justice of the Quebec Superior Court.
The Whistler sled dog cull was a controversial cull of over 100 sled dogs in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, that prompted investigation by the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). It occurred on April 21 and April 23, 2010, performed by Robert Fawcett, who later filed a claim at WorkSafeBC for post-traumatic stress disorder. Fawcett, an employee of Howling Dog Tours Whistler Inc., was allegedly told to euthanize the dogs because of a downturn in business after the 2010 Olympic Games.
Animals in the Canadian legal system are considered property. Property rights include the rights of possession, the rights of use, and the enjoyment of property to the exclusion of humans. Jurisdiction over animals is divided between the federal government and the provinces under the Constitution of Canada. The federal government, using its criminal law power, has created offences in the Criminal Code, in relation to animal suffering, defining the limitations and penalties in the event of breaches. The federal Parliament also has jurisdiction over the import of animals. The provinces have jurisdiction over animals as part of their power to regulate property laws.
Nicholas Kasirer is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was sworn into office on September 16, 2019.
Ag-gag laws are anti-whistleblower laws that apply within the agriculture industry. Popularized by Mark Bittman in an April 2011 The New York Times column, the term ag-gag typically refers to state laws in the United States of America that forbid undercover filming or photography of activity on farms without the consent of their owner—particularly targeting whistleblowers of animal rights abuses at these facilities. Although these laws originated in the United States, they have also begun to appear elsewhere, such as in Australia and Canada.
RSPCA Tasmania is an animal welfare, education and advocacy charitable organisation based in Tasmania, Australia. They run and maintain a shelter facility for the boarding of surrendered and seized animals, as well as operating retail shop fronts for the adoption of pets. They are responsible for the enforcement of state and federal animal welfare laws for domestic animals, and laws relating to non-commercial animal related activities in Tasmania.
Allison Christians is a tax law scholar and the H. Heward Stikeman Chair in Tax Law at the McGill University Faculty of Law/Faculté de Droit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her research and teaching focus on Canadian and U.S. domestic and international tax law and policy issues, with an emphasis on the relationship between taxation and economic development and on the role of government and non-government institutions and actors in the creation of tax policy norms.
Suzana Gartner is an author, retired lawyer, mediator, and animal advocate. Her legal practice, Gartner & Associates Animal Law, was the first law firm in Canada to focus exclusively on animal law and the mediation of animal law disputes. Gartner & Associates Animal Law ceased operations in December of 2020.
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit animal welfare organization which advocates for animal protection legislation, operates animal shelters, and runs educational workshops and public awareness programs throughout British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1896, it is a registered charitable organization and one of the largest such animal welfare organizations in North America. As of 2017, BC SPCA had 36 branches, over 500 staff members, nearly 5500 volunteers, operated 5 veterinary hospitals/clinics and a wildlife rehabilitation centre, and sheltered more than 22000 animals. It is also one of the few animal welfare organizations to monitor animals in film.
National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), also known as the National Council of SPCAs, is the largest and oldest animal welfare organisation in South Africa. The NSPCA handles all matters relating to animal cruelty involving all animal species and is a registered Non-Profit Organisation registered with the Department of Social Development.
Annie MacDonald Langstaff was a Canadian law student, legal activist, supporter of women's suffrage and an early woman aviator. Born in Ontario in 1887, she graduated from Prescott High School and then married in 1904. Her husband quickly abandoned her, leaving her a single mother. Moving to Montreal in 1906, she began working as a stenographer in the law office of Samuel William Jacobs, who encouraged her to study law. Finding no barriers to her admission, Langstaff enrolled at McGill University in 1911, graduating three years later as a Bachelor of Civil Law. On applying to the Bar of Montreal to practice, she was refused the right to take the examination.
Adelle Blackett is a Canadian legal scholar working as a professor of law at McGill University Faculty of Law.