Animals as Rights-Holders: Could the Charter Abolish Farmed Animal Use?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71389/gjal.155586Abstract
Numerous efforts have been made to advocate for animals as beings that warrant legal rights, yet animal rights are minimally reflected in Canadian law. Although there have been incremental legislative changes that provide protection to some animals in specific circumstances, they have generally failed to advance the rights of farmed animals undergoing confinement and slaughter. However, if animals’ rights are to be legally recognized under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, significant reform would be required in all modern forms of animal use, including agriculture. This article discusses the prospect of animals receiving rights under sections 7, 12 and 15 of the Charter, which codify the right to life, the right not to be subjected to cruel punishment, and the right to equal treatment, and examines the scope of protections that farmed animals could obtain with these rights. First, I discuss the current state of animal protections in Canada. Building on favourable precedents, I examine jurisprudence that supports sections 7, 12 and 15 rights for animals and conduct a doctrinal analysis under the assumption that these rights have been recognized. My findings demonstrate why modern animal agricultural practices, such as forcible confinement and slaughter, would be unconstitutional by infringing on animals’ proposed Charter rights. As a result, the Charter may have the potential to abolish most forms of farmed animal use.
