Mr. Speaker, as you know, for many months now I have been presenting petitions from the people of Peterborough who are concerned about cruelty to pets. This concern reached great heights this summer when a dog was dragged for one or two kilometres and was very badly hurt.
I have had letters in which people have been asking for a great increase in the penalty for such crimes. In particular, they point out that there is mounting evidence between animal abuse and domestic violence. They also point out that our statutes in this regard have not changed since 1892 and that they regard animals as property.
Therefore the petitioners call upon parliament to work toward swift and effective action that works to modernize Canada's law dealing with crimes against animals and that the penalties for such offences be made strict enough to act as a deterrent against such behaviour.