June 2, 2009
You see their cry for help on the net, in commericals and on TV, now the place which is suppose to be a safe haven for the unfortunate animals is under search for animal cruelty. And you wonder where your donated monies go to.
But when I visted the centre twice a couple months ago and a few weeks ago I didn’t see any acts of cruelty, the cages were very clean and wouldn’t animals be distressed being locked up in a cage? But apparently, it’s more than that…
Perhaps people who were denied adoption made it up? We have to wait and see.
The Ontario SPCA raided the offices of the Toronto Humane Society this afternoon in response to allegations that animals being housed there were in distress.
Three Ontario SPCA inspectors and a veterinarian, accompanied by Toronto police officers, searched the Toronto Humane Society’s headquarters on River Street in downtown Toronto as part of an ongoing investigation into “unnecessary suffering of animals” because of a restrictive euthanasia policy.
The Ontario SPCA also has suspended the affiliate status of the Toronto Humane Society until the investigation is complete. The Toronto Humane Society is one of 55 organizations province-wide that are affiliated with the Ontario SPCA.
“We’re here to look around the shelter,” said Kristin Williams, a spokesperson for the Ontario SPCA. “Whenever we receive a credible complaint involving an animal in distress, we’re required to respond” under the provincial animal welfare act, she said.
“We are confident that any investigation will find that the claims made are without merit,” said Ian McConachie, a spokesperson for the Toronto Humane Society.
“We treat our animals with excellent care while they’re in our shelter.”
The investigation into the Toronto Humane Society’s care of its animals could take a couple of weeks, said Williams. Once the investigation is done and if the Ontario SPCA feels it has sufficient evidence, it could present the evidence to the crown and charges could be laid.
Yesterday, the Ontario SPCA held an emergency meeting of its Board of Directors to discuss the issue of the Toronto Humane Society and the allegations of animal distress.
The president of the Toronto Humane Society said the allegations were “nonsense.”
Tim Trow told the Star: “It’s ludicrous to suggest there is any impropriety. . . There is no question that this is a wonderful facility with extremely well-cared-for animals.”
Trow welcomed the investigation, saying that he hopes it fuels a debate on euthanasia policy.
The Toronto Humane Society refuses to kill an animal that it considers healthy.
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