CALLOUS BEHAVIOUR

It came as no surprise on Monday when Saskatchewan once again finished near the bottom of the list in the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s annual ranking of animal protection laws in Canada. For years, this province has languished in the lowest tier, falling from secondlast in 2015 to dead-last among the provinces in each of the past two years.

The ALDF’s rankings are based on a detailed comparison of each jurisdiction’s regulations. In the past, Saskatchewan has been downgraded for, among other things, failing to explicitly prohibit animal fighting and for not compelling veterinarians to report suspected cases of animal cruelty.

It’s tempting to blame this sorry state of affairs on Saskatchewan’s agricultural roots, especially when one looks west to Alberta, which ranks ninth out of the 10 provinces on the ALDF’s list. But when we direct our gaze east to our other prairie neighbour — secondranked Manitoba — it becomes clear that simple geography is no excuse.

At the end of the day, laws are supposed to be a reflection of the will of the people. And if a few recent incidents are any indication, perhaps the people of Saskatchewan aren’t exactly unanimous in a desire to protect our fellow creatures. Consider these cases from just the past three months:

• The owner of a private Saskatoon kennel pleaded guilty in May to animal negligence after 14 dogs died in an overheated room due to a malfunctioning thermostat.

• That same month, five kittens died in Prince Albert after a group of kids were seen tossing them into the air and trying to set them on fire.

• Jackrabbits in Regina’s Harbour Landing neighbourhood were found last week with arrows through their bodies.

• A few days later, one adult and one youth were charged after allegedly capturing and killing a seagull on the grounds of the Country Thunder music festival in Craven.

While many animal lovers are rightly appalled at such incidents, others just shrug their shoulders. “Who cares? They’re pests!” was a common sentiment on social media after the most recent cases. “Right on! Keep up the good work!” said one commenter on Facebook.

Although often made in jest, such callous responses may help explain why Saskatchewan’s elected representatives haven’t seen fit to strengthen our animal protection laws. And that’s a shame ... not just for our fellow creatures, but for the majority of Saskatchewan people who don’t think torturing small animals is a laughing matter.

Animals are not the same as humans, but even the least of them deserves some measure of respect.