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Ontario’s animal protection laws are outdated, unconstitutional and violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That’s the argument being put forward by a pair of “strange bedfellows” who are teaming up on a legal challenge that questions the oversight of, and the powers currently held by, this province’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

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More specifically, Jeffrey Bogaerts of the Ontario Landowners Association is alleging the law that gives the OSPCA its broad powers to investigate offences and lay criminal charges is unconstitutional.

The hearing, which will be held in a Perth courtroom next Wednesday, is likely to cast a spotlight on the operations of the anti-cruelty organization.

The law allows OSPCA inspectors to enter private property, in some cases without a warrant, and seize animals it believes aren’t being cared for properly.

Since it’s not a government agency, the OSPCA isn’t subject to freedom-of-information laws, it can’t be investigated by the Ontario Ombudsman, nor are its officers regulated by laws such as the Police Services Act, which governs police conduct. Have a complaint about one of its officers? The OSPCA will investigate the matter itself. Want to know more about its actions or policies? The freedom-of-information laws won’t help you.