During a break-up, sometimes couples can fight over the family pets and Montreal's SPCA wants there to be guidelines for pet custody.
Since 2015, the civil code of Quebec recognizes animals as sentient beings except in cases of divorce, says Sophie Gaillard, the director of animal advocacy and legal affairs at the Montreal SPCA.
"In family law matters, we continue to treat animals as things. Just like any other piece of property that has to be split up between the spouses. So, the court will make a decision not taking into account the animal's welfare," says Gaillard.
She adds that 50 per cent of Quebec households have a pet, and during separation whomever acquired the pet would be the owner.
"As a lawyer working at the SPCA, this is the kind of call I get very frequently by people who are in the midst of a separation and suddenly realize, the adoption paper or the breeder contract is under the other person's name, and they're going to end up getting the animal. And this just sends people into a panic," says Gaillard.
Since June 2024, the Montreal SPCA has been asking for a provision in the Civil Code that would force judges to consider animal welfare in custody disputes.
"Because animals can end up in the hands of the person not best suited to taking care of them. Sometimes, someone who deliberately does not want to take good care of them," says Gaillard.
British Colombia is the first province to enact pet custody legislation. Gaillard wants Quebec to be the second.
"It’s an important issue for animal welfare. And also for people who can find themselves, you know, from one day to the next, after a separation or a divorce, deprived of any contact with an animal who they consider a full family member," she says.
The SPCA has asked Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette, to insert a provision on animal custody in the Civil Code as part of the family law reform.
“What are intentions of the Minister of Justice with respect to this issue? Are they going to be proceeding with fixing this problem or have they decided to basically just close the book?” said Gaillard, as she waits for a response.
In a statement to CTV News, the justice ministry says it is a complex file and is still analyzing it.
