Animal Advocates Watchdog

Moriarty denies SPCA rebuffed pleas to rehome dogs

Marcie Moriarty of the B.C. SPCA said it's legal to kill 100 animals humanely, but it's morally reprehensible.

Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann, PNG, The Province

Internet posts by Bob Fawcett suggest corporate orders were behind the post-Olympic slaughter of 100 dogs — and no efforts to find adoptive homes were made because the cull was done haphazardly as the business was under threat of folding.

Meanwhile BC SPCA’s head animal-cruelty investigator Marcie Moriarty says she’s “livid” over reports the SPCA “rebuffed” attempts to “place” dogs from a Whistler tour operator who slaughtered 100 animals in the post-Olympics downturn.

On Wednesday The Vancouver Sun reported “the 38-year-old employee of Outdoor Adventures who killed 100 sled dogs in Whistler approached the BC SPCA on two separate occasions asking for its help in finding adoptive homes for some of the company’s dogs” and both times he was rebuffed.

The report comes in the context of an international media firestorm surrounding the sled-dog cull, after documents from WorkSafe B.C. revealed a man claimed he suffered post traumatic stress because of the slaughter, and was granted compensation.

Gory details in the claim — including the man’s account of a killing field that saw a bloody frenzy of wounded, frightened dogs, eventually dispatched by bullets and knife slashes in a mass grave — have led to a joint criminal investigation by the B.C. SPCA and RCMP.

Moriarty says the first meeting with the Outdoor Adventures employee, who she identified today as Bob Fawcett, took place May 28 — long after the cull happened on April 21 and April 23, 2010.

“Bob [Fawcett] . . . indicated during that meeting they had reduced numbers of the herd. We had no idea of this before,” Moriarty said. “And, interestingly enough, there is a flurry of email activity from [Outdoor Adventures owner] Joey Houssian in July with the BC SPCA. Well, hmm. Wouldn’t that coincide with when he found out this whole WorkSafe BC claim was happening?”

Moriarty said she found it interesting that Houssian seemed to “proactively” be asking for adoption help for his company’s herd of sled-dogs after the cull in April.

She added the SPCA has always maintained it is difficult to find adoptive homes for sled dogs because of the way they are raised and kept on tethers.

She also said it is not uncommon for sled-dog tour operators in Canada to complete large culls.

She questioned the fairness of sled-dog companies profiting from the use of dogs and then expecting the SPCA to complete euthanizations.

Company owner Houssian has not responded to a number of interview requests from The Province.

Meanwhile, graphic Internet posts by Fawcett — the man who was compensated by WorkSafe BC for debilitating effects from the “execution-style” slaughter of the dogs — provide more insight into his understanding of the business reasons behind the cull.

Fawcett has indicated he is in a fragile mental state after “execution-style” killing of dogs that he had raised and called “friends.” Outdoor Adventures says it knew about “the potential euthanization of the dogs,” but expected it would be done in a legal and humane way.

The BC SPCA is filing warrants to WorkSafe B.C. to access Fawcett’s first-hand accounts of what happened in the cull, so the Internet post below could potentially shed light on the information the SPCA is seeking.

In an Internet post at a forum for soldiers who suffer post-traumatic stress, Fawcett wrote on Jan. 6, 2011: “I feel that soldiers with PTSD could be the only people who could relate to what I have had to be put through.”

“I have owned a large dogsled company for the last 15 years. As the economy turned we were forced to sell to a corporation 2 years ago. They did nothing but complain about costs and were not willing to sell some of the herd because they wanted all the animals on deck “in case” it was busy. We had 330 dogs. Most of them were raised by me and family.

“I was scheduled for surgery in early May. 2 weeks before surgery (still working) I was told the company was going to fold unless we took drastic action. The drastic action would be the immediate disposal of half the herd. There is no more money and the owners would only continue on if we did the reduction and went with a new business model, less dogs, less costs.”

“I reluctantly agreed to the job as I have always euthanized the older or injured dogs myself. Taken them for a nice walk, had a steak in a bowl in the woods and their last memory was a lovely mountain setting with a great meal. And always away from the rest of the herd. Well I was told I had 2 days to get the job done due to a large tour group we had coming and we couldn’t afford more time.

“So I my manager take a truck to the bottom of the road so no one could come up and gave him a radio in case I shot myself. I then set about the direct execution of 60 of my friends on day 1. Some I missed, had to chase around with blood everywhere, some I had to slit their throats because it was the only way to keep them calm in my arms.”

“I had one still alive in a pit I dug for a mass burial. I carried them all one by one so as to at least give them some kind of respect. Day 2 was no different. I guess I need people who have been to hell and have seen hell to understand how I feel and maybe be able to listen and share . . . Hope I can connect with some of you and help and be helped through PTSD hell.”

Meanwhile, pressure is growing for stronger regulation of the sled-dog industry in Canada.

Humane Society International/Canada issued a press release condemning “a mass killing of 100 sled dogs, reportedly carried out in Whistler in April 2010, by Outdoor Adventures.”

“This was a horrific killing of 100 dogs many of whom were reportedly healthy, and could have been placed into loving homes,” said spokesperson Lauren Scott. “Humane Society International/Canada is calling on the authorities to continue with their investigation and prosecute as warranted to the fullest extent of the law”.

scooper@theprovince.com

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Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/health/Sled+operator+recounts+company+pressure+complete+cull+days/4211809/story.html#ixzz1Cq5CxqL3

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