The Teddy animal abuse case was expected to resume today at the Duncan courthouse but a pre-trial conference that was supposed to take place yesterday before the case picked up again has been delayed until Friday, May 3rd.
This case has drawn attention from animal lovers all over BC and the country and on the first day of testimony, all the way back in February, one of the co-accused, Melissa Tooshley pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessities of life for an animal.
The man accused in this animal abuse case, Anderson Joe, pleaded not guilty.
In February of last year, Teddy was found on a property off of Tzouhalem Road and when SPCA Special Constable, Matt Affleck found Teddy, the animal was on a lead that was three to six inches long, a collar embedded into his neck and a head that had swollen to two to three times its normal size.
Protestors are calling for the maximum animal cruelty sentence of five years in jail, a ten thousand dollar fine, and a lifetime ban on owning pets.
In response to this case, local government’s, including North Cowichan, Duncan, and Lake Cowichan have amended their animal control bylaws.
In North Cowichan, under the old legislation, there was a “Vicious Dog,” section in an animal control bylaw that targeted specific breeds of “dangerous” dogs.
The new bylaw is no longer an Animal Control Bylaw and Mayor Al Siebring said it will be referred to as the Animal Responsibility Bylaw moving forward.
Breeds that will be taken out of bylaw:
Pit Bull Terrier
American Pit Bull Terrier
English Bull Terrier
Pit Bull
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Lake Cowichan council has added new wording to its Animal Control Bylaw that addresses cruelty to animals in a new section of the bylaw.
In Duncan, Chief Administrative Officer Peter de Verteuil said, in particular, staff is looking at a few sections of the existing bylaw.
“We’re just cleaning up some of the language, we’re reviewing certain sections like hen licencing provisions, as well as the wording around aggressive and dangerous dogs,” said de Verteuil. “Our current bylaw is based on the SPCA model and Animal Regulation Bylaw and the proposed bylaw is as well.”
de Verteuil said there are a few external agencies that will review the legislation before council does.
