Animal Law 101 2022

Course Chair
V. Victoria Shroff — Shroff & Associates (Shroff Animal Law), Adjunct Professor of Animal Law, Allard School of Law (erstwhile), and Faculty Member, School of Legal Studies, Capilano University, Vancouver

About the Course Chair

Credited as an animal law pioneer, V. Victoria Shroff is one of Canada's 1st and longest serving animal law practitioners and the first animal lawyer in Western Canada to have a focus on animal law for over 20 years. She has appeared at all levels of court in BC and filed BC's first landmark "dangerous" dog case for leave to appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2020, she helped spearhead Canada's first Animal Law Pro Bono Clinic. She also established and chairs the national Canadian Animal Law Study Group. She recently authored the textbook, Canadian Animal Law (Lexis-Nexis).

Victoria is a regular speaker at animal conferences and at law schools around the world. She has been an adjunct Professor of animal law at UBC's Peter A. Allard School of Law since 2016, and at Capilano University. She founded and runs an animal law and social literacy program in elementary schools called "Paws of Empathy" which she teaches with dogs.

In recognition of her contributions as an animal lawyer-educator, she has been a finalist for the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada in 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018; was honoured with a prestigious SEEDS award by the International Society of Animal Rights; is a finalist for the YWCA Women of Distinction Award 2022; was awarded a Canadian Bar Association Certificate of Appreciation; and was presented with a Hitachi Excellence Award for Communication. She has been featured in a wildlife documentary and is often called upon by major media to provide her opinion on animal law issues.

Featured Speaker
The Honourable Chief Judge Melissa A. Gillespie — Provincial Court of BC, Vancouver

Chief Judge Gillespie was born and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. She received her law degree from the University of Toronto and was called to the BC bar in 1991. Soon after that, she began her legal career as Crown Counsel working in New Westminster, Surrey, and Burnaby. From 2000 until 2003, she served as Administrative Crown Counsel in Surrey. She then became Deputy Regional Crown Counsel, and in 2005 Regional Crown Counsel for the Fraser Region. Appointed Queen's Counsel in 2009, Chief Judge Gillespie was sworn in as a Provincial Court judge in February 2012.

Following her appointment, she presided in the Fraser Region. In addition to sitting assignments, Chief Judge Gillespie was active in delivering education programs to judges and judicial justices, as well as to the larger legal community. She also served as a member of the executive of the BC Provincial Court Judges Association for several years.

Chief Judge Gillespie was appointed an Associate Chief Judge for a two year term in April 2016 and re-appointed for a three year term in April 2018. A member of the Board of Directors of the Justice Education Society, she has participated in a Justice Education Society project to strengthen the criminal justice system in Guyana.

She was appointed Acting Chief Judge on May 7, 2018 and appointed Chief Judge on October 19, 2018 for a seven year term.

Faculty
Professor Maneesha Deckha — Professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria
Alexandra Janse — Crown Counsel, BC Prosecution Services, Kamloops
Christian Lim — Senior Crown Counsel, Alberta Justice, Edmonton
David Wu — Arvay Finlay LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

V. Victoria Shroff — Shroff & Associates (Shroff Animal Law), Adjunct Professor of Animal Law, Allard School of Law (erstwhile), and Faculty Member, School of Legal Studies, Capilano University, Vancouver

Animal Law: Theoretical Frameworks (9:10 – 9:30)

• legal treatment of animals—historically and currently

Professor Maneesha Deckha — Professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria

Overview of Animals in Mainstream Legal Practices (9:30 – 10:15)

• access to justice issues involving animals generally
• will be covering
  • pet custody issues (family law, ownership disputes)
  • "dangerous" dogs
  • contracts/issues involving animals and the law, intersection with various laws
  • housing issues, wills and estates and animals, and more

V. Victoria Shroff — Shroff & Associates (Shroff Animal Law), Adjunct Professor of Animal Law, Allard School of Law (erstwhile), and Faculty Member, School of Legal Studies, Capilano University, Vancouver

View from the Bench—Why is Animal Law Important? (10:15 – 10:45)

A cornerstone of the rule of law is that judges apply the law, and that includes the law applicable to any case involving animals. The Provincial Court has jurisdiction to deal with family, small claims, criminal, traffic, ticket, and bylaw cases. In most of these areas, it is possible for issues involving animals to arise. We not only hear cases involving animals, but on occasion animals have also appeared in our court, such as accredited Canine Assisted Intervention dogs, which may sit with a witness to calm them while the witness provides testimony. (The Honourable Chief Judge Gillespie: BC Provincial Court, November 12, 2020 (page 51, Canadian Animal Law (Lexis-Nexis 2021) V. Victoria Shroff))

• animal law in the Provincial Courts
• key cases involving domestic animals and wildlife
  • Whistler bear case: R. v. Stevikova, 2021 BCPC 235
  • Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act: R. v. Chrysler, 2013 BCPC 240
• animal participation in the courtroom
• access to justice issues

The Honourable Chief Judge Melissa A. Gillespie — Provincial Court of BC, Vancouver

BREAK (10:45 – 11:00)

Animal Cruelty in Canada's Justice System (11:00 – 11:30)

• Criminal Code and animal protection
• animal cruelty cases under Provincial Statute
• case studies
• tips for prosecuting and defending animal cruelty
• major characteristics of the way animal cruelty offences are handled in Canada; everything from the charges to sentences
• how low the threshold or how high of a threshold is it for convictions of unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury to the issue of deterrence, denunciation and rehabilitation of the offenders
• review of seminal case of R. v. CHEN (November 2021, ABCA) which looks at how animal cruelty is to be seen and treated in the justice system

Alexandra Janse — Crown Counsel, BC Prosecution Services, Kamloops
Christian Lim — Senior Crown Counsel, Alberta Justice, Edmonton

Animals, Administrative Law, and Wildlife (11:30 – 12:00)

• basics of administrative law 
• regulatory schemes involving animals
• unique issues posed by challenging administrative decisions involving animals
• discussion of cases including those involving fur farming, cetacean captivity, powers of conservation officers to euthanize animals

David Wu — Arvay Finlay LLP, Vancouver

Developing an Animal Law Practice (12:00 – 12:15)

• the future of animal law, locally and internationally and why it is a viable practice area
• tips for starting your own animal law practice as part of your existing practice

V. Victoria Shroff — Shroff & Associates (Shroff Animal Law), Adjunct Professor of Animal Law, Allard School of Law (erstwhile), and Faculty Member, School of Legal Studies, Capilano University, Vancouver

Q & A and Closing Comments (12:15 – 12:30)

Professor Maneesha Deckha — Professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria
V. Victoria Shroff — Shroff & Associates (Shroff Animal Law), Adjunct Professor of Animal Law, Allard School of Law (erstwhile), and Faculty Member, School of Legal Studies, Capilano University, Vancouver
David Wu — Arvay Finlay LLP, Vancouver