R v Roberts, 2017 BCSC 2495

This was a summary conviction appeal by Mr. Roberts who was convicted of wilfully causing suffering to animals contrary to s. 445.1(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, and of wilfully neglecting animals contrary to s. 446(1)(b) regarding a herd of horses that the accused had kept in Armstrong, British Columbia.

In December 2013, a Special Constable from the BC SCPA attended Roberts’ property and found many horses that had no access to food and appeared underweight and neglected. At this time  Roberts was issued an order with directions to improve the living condition of his horses. In December 2014, the BC SPCA executed a warrant to enter Roberts’ property along with a veterinarian who determined the animals were in distress due to inadequate food, water, care and shelter.

The first ground of appeal concerned photographic and eye-witness evidence obtained during the execution of the BC SPCA warrant. The Court considered the Grant test to determine the admissibility of the evidence and held that the Charter-infringing state conduct was minor with minimal impact on the protected interests of Roberts and the admission of the evidence would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute, therefore dismissing the first ground of the appeal.

The second ground of appeal concerned the reliance of the trial judge on evidence obtained in December 2013. The Court held that this evidence was important in proving Roberts had the necessary mens rea of the offence, as the horses’ condition did not improve between 2013 and 2014, therefore the second ground of the complaint was dismissed.

The third and final ground of appeal concerned the issue of credibility which was also dismissed, as the Court found the trial judge properly considered whether Roberts’ evidence raised reasonable doubt and there was no evidence of a palpable and overriding error in his credibility analysis.

The appeal was dismissed.