Can I Get a Pet Lion? A Primer on Animal Welfare Laws in Ontario

With stories of “roadside” exotic zoos and pet lions cropping up in Ontario, you may be wondering – is that legal? Let’s get to the bottom of this.

Each municipality may have its own by-laws on what animals are and aren’t permitted and in what numbers. There is also a layer of federal laws, for example, the Criminal Code^[1] and the Fisheries Act^[2] that outlaw the possession, breeding, and moving of captive cetaceans (Willy has been freed!), with some grandfathering exceptions (Willy is staying after all…). There are also federal and provincial laws that protect native wildlife (recall that lions aren’t native to Ontario), like the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 Species At Risk Act, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, Endangered Species Act, 2007, and others. None of these Acts prohibit the ownership of pet lions in Ontario. However, there is one Act, the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act (PAWS Act), that sets minimum standards of care for all animals, including pet lions^[3]. 

On January 1, 2020, the PAWS Act came into effect, building on its predecessor the now repealed Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, RSO 1990, c. O.36. 

One of the key changes was the creation of the Animal Welfare Services (AWS) housed within the Ministry of the Solicitor General. AWS inspectors, including the Chief Animal Welfare Inspector, and other AWS staff are now responsible for enforcing the PAWS Act. They respond to public concerns, carry out inspections and investigations, provide outreach and education on the minimum standards of care for animals, and can take various enforcement steps to relieve animals’ distress.^[4]

This development also led to the creation of a new legal counsel role within the Ministry’s Legal Services Branch – the role of providing legal advice and representation to AWS before the courts and the administrative tribunal. Having joined the team in 2022, I can confidently say that this has been the most rewarding part of my lawyering career so far.

PAWS Act sets minimum standards of care for all animals in Ontario (with some exceptions). Animal owners and custodians are now required, by law, to keep their animals out of distress and to relieve any distress that may occur. Distress is defined as the state of being:

(a)  in need of proper care, water, food or shelter,

(b)  injured, sick, in pain or suffering, or

(c)  abused or subject to undue physical or psychological hardship, privation or neglect.

Failure to comply with the minimum standards of care prescribed in Ontario Regulation 444/19 also constitutes distress.^[5] This means that failure to provide every animal with adequate and appropriate medical attention, sanitary conditions, food and water, etc. also constitutes distress. The Regulation prescribes fairly specific requirements for certain species like dogs kept outdoors, captive wildlife, captive primates, and marine animals.

The Act provides two main sets of tools for AWS inspectors to enforce these standards:

1. Charges: AWS can lay provincial charges against owners/custodians for certain conduct, like causing or permitting distress to an animal.
2. Compliance: AWS can issue orders to owners/custodians to do specific things to relieve distress and comply with the Act. AWS can remove animals to relieve distress, keep animals in provincial care, and bill the owners or custodians for the costs of caring for these animals.

Charges

All offences under the PAWS Act are set out in s. 49 and are classified as Major and Minor. The maximum penalties for Minor offences (such as failing to comply with an order or contravening minimum standards of care in the Regulation) range up to $100,000 and/or 1 year imprisonment for individuals, and up to $250,000 for corporations. Major offences, such as causing distress or arranging dog fights, carry a maximum penalty of up to $260,000 and/or 2 years imprisonment for individuals, and up to $1,000,000 for corporations. Prohibition orders against animal ownership are possible as part of sentencing.

Compliance

On the compliance front, the PAWS Act provides AWS inspectors with various tools to conduct inspections/investigations and relieve the distress of animals. For example, AWS may inspect a commercial zoo for the purpose of determining compliance with the standards of care. If an animal in distress is located, AWS can issue an order directing the owner or custodian to relieve the distress (for example, an order to take your pet lion to a vet to treat a wound). If the order is not complied with by the deadline, AWS can remove an animal and take steps to relieve its distress. If there are reasonable grounds to believe that the animal may be placed in distress if returned, AWS may decide to keep the animal in provincial care. Under the PAWS Act, the owner or custodian is liable for the ongoing costs of care of their animals and failure to pay those costs by the deadline results in forfeiture of animals to the Crown.

So, is owning a lion in Ontario legal? Yes, but with conditions. As of the date of this article, there is no law in Ontario prohibiting the ownership of lions. However, the PAWS Act requires the owner or custodian of exotic wildlife to comply with minimum standards of care. If those standards are not met, there are serious consequences for the owners and custodians.

It is worth noting that there are no zoo licensing requirements in Ontario either; anyone can start an exotic zoo without a license (provided they are not in breach of Federal, Provincial, or Municipal restrictions). Some zoos in Ontario obtained their CAZA^[6] certification on their own initiative.

As a consequence of the various laws that apply to the ownership of wildlife within Ontario, you can keep your pet lion, but you have let those Canada Warblers go.

Should private ownership of captive wildlife, like lions, be legal in Ontario? That is for the voters of Ontario to decide.

I hope this brief primer on the PAWS Act sparked your interest in this fascinating area of law!

If you think an animal in captivity is in distress or is being abused, call 1-833-9-ANIMAL. If you find injured or orphaned wildlife, contact the Toronto Wildlife Center here: Wildlife Hotline – Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC is a wildlife hospital that runs entirely on donations)

Any views or opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own and do not represent the views or opinions of my employer. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Any errors are entirely my own.

Any article or other information or content expressed or made available in this Section is that of the respective author(s) and not of the OBA.