Welcome to the

International Research Group

in Animal Law

Our mission

GRIDA’s goal is to define a modern, legal approach to issues of animal security and welfare that combines its purpose and the appropriate juridical instruments

Learn more about the GRIDA

For several years now, animal suffering has led to the emergence of multidisciplinary reflection on the animal condition. Trapped within the rigid structure of civil law, which does not recognize animals as persons, animals were treated as chattel goods that are subject to abuse. Facing the inadequacy of the model which continued to maintain the "machine-animal" theory – an ethological hypothesis that emerged from classical theories of the mechanistic movement, which postulated that animals do not suffer any more than they think (Descartes) – the time had finally come to take action.

This is what the provincial government undertook in 2015 at then Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Pierre Paradis’ initiative. Driven by the evolution of their collective representation, animals now take on a legal standing which reflects their real nature: beings that have feelings and biological needs.

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Animal news

March 2017

THE GRIDA BEGINS ITS ANALYSIS OF THE ANIMAL WELFARE AND SAFETY ACT EFFECTIVENESS

In December 2016, more than a year after the Animal Welfare and Safety Act (Chapter B-3.1) came into effect, Pierre Paradis – then Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food – set up an independent committee to assess the effectiveness as well as the challenges observed in the implementation of the Law. Under the aegis of the International Research Group in Animal Law (GRIDA), Martine Lachance was entrusted with the chairmanship of the committee comprised of people actively working in the field. Although Pierre Paradis’s successor has chosen not to renew the mandate, Martine Lachance, assisted by her team, continues the analysis of the effectiveness of the Law. The team includes the following individuals, all appointed for their expertise in their respective fields of action:

Conrad Bernier, agronome
Louise Branchaud, Tenir Promesse
Carl Girard, SPA des Cantons
Dre Isabelle Poulin, Veterinay Hospital of Repentigny
Johanne Tassé, CAACQ

April 2017

INTRODUCTION OF BILL N^o128 : AN ACT TO PROMOTE THE PROTECTION OF PERSONS BY ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR THE REGULATION OF DOGS

With the goal of ensuring the public’s protection, the Minister of Public Security introduced bill n^o128 designed to promote the protection of persons by establishing a framework for the regulation of dogs in April 2017. Contrary to recommendations received from the working group he convened, Martin Coiteux is prepared to implement a province wide ban of pit bull type dogs and to give extensive powers to municipalities allowing them to supervise other potentially dog species in this regard. Reality has shown that the banishment of certain species does not address dog attack issue. For this reason, the International Research Group in Animal Law (GRIDA) prefers to endorse the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) position. The CVMA “supports a community approach to dog bite prevention, including responsible breeding, training, pet selection and pet ownership as well as education on animals in the community”. Because a discriminative approach alone cannot resolve the problem, the GRIDA, like other organizations, has asked Minister Coiteux to hold a parliamentary committee in order to study the bill.

Mission and objectives

The International Research Group in Animal Law (GRIDA) was established in January 2007 as a research unit within the Department of Juridical Sciences at the University of Quebec at Montréal (UQAM). Founded by professor Martine Lachance, GRIDA’s mission is to ...