The Animal Protection Index was created by World Animal Protection to establish the classification of 50 countries worldwide in regards to their commitment to protecting and improving animal welfare through legislation. It measures legislation and policy in each country, as well as whether or not there is education in schools about animal welfare. It then ranks countries on a scale from A to G, with A being the highest and G being the lowest grade. As of 2019, Canada ranks a D.
Comparatively, the United Kingdom received an A grade and has comprehensive legislation protecting the welfare of all animals, regardless of classification.
Another factor in the ranking is a country’s alignment to the guiding principles of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
One of the main differences between Canada (as well as other countries that rank low on the scale, such as Japan and Ethiopia) and high ranking countries such as the UK and New Zealand, is that the higher ranking countries have laws that recognize animal sentience.
Canada and Japan both recognize that animals can feel pain and suffer, but have not gone so far as to say that animals are sentient beings. In fact, Ethiopia has no legislation recognizing any animal sentience. On the other hand, the UK and New Zealand both recognize the sentience of animals and have legislation that reinforces this position.
Attitudes towards animal welfare vary greatly depending on cultures. The European Union has some of the highest standards of animal welfare and countries like New Zealand consider animals to be part of everyday life. For this agricultural nation, it’s in their best interests economically to protect their animals.