I would like to question what appear to be some misleading statements made in The "SPCA Desperately Seeks Solution" article that was published in the Times Colonist on July 10, 2003.

1. "Since a decision last year to stop euthanizing animals in its care...."

The BC SPCA has never been a "no kill" society. The current CAMP policy is NOT no kill and in fact states that branches are to kill "orange zone" dogs (dogs that are not "perfect" and may require some help to become sellable) in order to transfer "green zone" dogs (easy to sell) from
other shelters.

2. "In June, extra animals resulted in the shelter running out of food halfway through..."

The Victoria branch of the BC SPCA had approximately four million dollars in donations a few years ago so I am curious to know why the
Victoria shelter is now asking for donations for food.

The BC SPCA will ALWAYS be "desperately" seeking solutions to overcrowding in their shelters until they:

- Start offering aggressive low cost spay/neuter programs province wide (in conjunction with the veterinary community) to stop overpopulation;
- Spay/neuter ALL SHELTER animals before adoption (this is not common practice in all BC SPCA shelters);
- Demand regulations to control backyard breeders and to prohibit the tethering of dogs, and
- Stop making it so convenient for irresponsible people to abandon their pet(s)

If these ideas were implemented, then obviously there would be a lot fewer unwanted animals for the BC SPCA to house and care for, and then the BC SPCA would be able to concentrate its valuable resources on the prevention of cruelty to animals, which is what it was formed over 100 years ago to do.

It would also be beneficial if the TC writers performed a little research instead of just repeating what the BC SPCA tells them, so the donating public can fully understand the issues of pet overpopulation and see the complete picture of what is happening at the BC SPCA.

Jo-Anne Chambers
Former member of the Victoria SPCA CAC