Foothills MP John Barlow's private members bill continues to make it way through parliament.

Bill C-205 is a bill to amend the Health of Animals Act and it's something Barlow thought long and hard about after a particular incident in his riding in 2019.

"This really was sparked from the incident at Jumbo Farms in Fort Macleod, when the protesters broke into the turkey barns. You know I had just dozens of calls from farmers in the riding saying "Is it open season on farming? Like, people can just break into our property and into our barns and put our animals at risk?"

Barlow says protestors invading farms for their own gain and without knowledge of animal operations opens up a slew of bio-security issues.

"Digging a little deeper into it, these protestors who were at this farm in Fort Macleod were on a hog farm in Abbotsford the week before. And I don't think these activists understand the potential consequences of what they're doing. They could potentially be spreading airborne animal diseases from one operation to another."

Barlow says more needs to be done to protect farmers and their property.

"It adds some very strong penalties for people who break into private property. And also for any organizations that may be encouraging people to do that, like Extinction Rebellion or PETA. They also face some pretty stiff consequences for doing that."

Barlow says the Bill is working its way to passing second reading and go to the committee level for debate.

He says he has the support of the NDP, Bloc Quebecois and a few Liberals for the bill, which if it passes through the committee, will then go to the Senate before coming back to Parliament for third reading.

Read More:

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