12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Fighting over Fido - The intricacies of pet custody in family and civil law - views from across Canada

In this 2-hour CPD, you will learn about the quickly evolving laws surrounding pet custody across Canada.

Who gets the dog or cat upon separation? Are companion animals still considered only “property”? Does it matter if the parties were married or simply roommates? What happens in situations of family violence – is there a link between family violence and animal abuse?

The CBA-Animal Law sections across Canada will bring together speakers who are leaders in their respective fields, including animal law, family law and academia.

The goal of this session is to provide you with knowledge and some practical tools to deal with pet custody issues in both the civil and family law contexts, including a discussion on the first of its kind of legislation in British Columbia that includes pet custody provisions in its Family Law Act.

Speakers:

Jennifer Friedman, Animal law lawyer (Toronto, ON)
Amy Fitzgerald, Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Windsor (Windsor, ON)
Rebeka Breder, Breder Law (Vancouver, BC)

Moderator:

Monique St. Germain, Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. (Winnipeg, MB)