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Bill S-203

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S-203
First Session, Forty-second Parliament,
64 Elizabeth II, 2015
SENATE OF CANADA
BILL S-203
An Act to amend the Criminal Code and other Acts (ending the captivity of whales and dolphins)
first reading, December 8, 2015
THE HONOURABLE SENATOR MOORE

4211336

SUMMARY
This enactment amends the Criminal Code to create offences respecting cetaceans in captivity. It also amends the Fisheries Act to prohibit the taking of a cetacean into captivity and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act to prohibit the import of a cetacean into Canada and the export of a cetacean from Canada.

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1st Session, 42nd Parliament,
64 Elizabeth II, 2015
senate of canada
BILL S-203
An Act to amend the Criminal Code and other Acts (ending the captivity of whales and dolphins)
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
SHORT TITLE
Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act.
R.S., c. C-46
CRIMINAL CODE
2. The Criminal Code is amended by adding the following after section 445.1:
Definition of “cetacean”
445.2 (1) In this section, “cetacean” includes any member of the cetacean order, including a whale, dolphin or porpoise.
Offence
(2) Subject to subsection (3), every one commits an offence who
(a) owns, has the custody of or controls a cetacean that is kept in captivity;
(b) breeds or impregnates a cetacean; or
(c) possesses or seeks to obtain reproductive materials of cetaceans, including sperm or an embryo.
Exception
(3) Paragraph (2)(a) does not apply to a person who
(a) owns, has the custody of or controls a cetacean that is kept in captivity at the coming into force of this section and remains continuously in captivity thereafter; or
(b) has the custody of or controls a cetacean that is kept in captivity for the purpose of providing it with assistance or care or to rehabilitate it following an injury or another state of distress.
Exception
(4) Every one commits an offence who promotes, arranges, conducts, assists in, receives money for or takes part in any meeting, competition, exhibition, pastime, practice, display or event at or in the course of which captive cetaceans are used for performance for entertainment purposes unless such performance is authorized pursuant to a licence issued by the Lieutenant Governor in Council of a province or by such other person or authority in the province as may be specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
Punishment
(5) Every one who commits an offence under subsection (2) or (4) is guilty of
(a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; or
(b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than eighteen months or to both.
R.S., c. F-14
FISHERIES ACT
3. The Fisheries Act is amended by adding the following after section 28:
Taking cetaceans into captivity
28.1 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no one shall move a live cetacean, including a whale, dolphin or porpoise, from its immediate vicinity with the intent to take it into captivity.
Exception
(2) A person may move a live cetacean from its immediate vicinity when the cetacean is injured or in distress and is in need of assistance.
1992, c. 52
WILD ANIMAL AND PLANT PROTECTION AND REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL AND INTERPROVINCIAL TRADE ACT
4. The Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act is amended by adding the following after section 7:
Cetacean: import and export
7.1 No person shall import into Canada or export from Canada a cetacean, including a whale, dolphin or porpoise — whether living or dead — or sperm, a tissue culture or an embryo of a cetacean.
Published under authority of the Senate of Canada





Explanatory Notes
Criminal Code
Clause 2: New.
Fisheries Act
Clause 3: New.
Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act
Clause 4: New.


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