Feb 23, 2011 1:14pm
Dog culls not an industry standard, says task force chair
Task force chair emphasizes that sled dogs euthanized in 'more humane' way
By Jesse Ferreras

The head of a provincial task force looking into the alleged killings of about 100 sled dogs in Whistler last year said a cull on that scale is not normal in the dog sled industry.

Dr. Terry Lake, Liberal MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson and chair of the province's Sled Dog Industry Task Force that was launched as news of the killings broke in the media, said veterinarians euthanize dogs in a "vast majority of cases" and usually in a "way more humane than this."

"To euthanize a dog in front of a bunch of other dogs is not appropriate because the other dogs would become extremely fearful and stressed," said Lake, a veterinarian himself. "So that's just not an appropriate way of approaching euthanasia."

AAS comment: But that is what the SPCA used to do.