Barbara Yaffe is to be commended for her brave and insightful look at the real BC SPCA, as are the two employees who came forward with their evidence.

The BC SPCA is a much needed organization in our province, but it has become corrupt and self serving in recent decades. What began over 100 years ago as a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has essentially evolved into a slickly marketed chain of second hand pet retail outlets, augmented by millions of dollars worth of private pound contracts.

BC SPCA CEO Craig Daniell bemoans the Society's lack of resources - limited space and finite budgets - and complains that "no single agency can be expected to bear total responsibility for society's homeless animals", yet he has directed his Society to raid independent animal welfare shelters in an attempt to shut them down (Forgotten Felines, as well as other independent cat rescuers) and has spent untold dollars attempting to sue others into silence (Animal Advocates Society of B.C. twice so far). Is this Mr. Daniell's idea of sharing the burden of animal welfare work in our province?

The crux of the problem is that the BC SPCA overtaxes its resources at the expense of the animals it claims to speak for, while misplacing the blame for its own ethical shortcomings on the public. The BC SPCA has always been very quick to blame an irresponsible pet owning public for the surplus of unwanted animals that wind up in its facilities, yet it encourages public irresponsibility with its unlimited surrender policy which allows pet dumping with impunity. Furthermore, the BC SPCA continues to sell intact animals, and has shown absolutely no interest in any form of provincial or municipal control of breeding legislation.

It's high time the BC SPCA got going with its original mandate. When it stops acting as a pet disposal outlet, it will have the resources to truly prevent cruelty. Here is what it boils down to: real animal welfare work costs money, while pet disposal makes money. The BC SPCA will never rid itself of its critics as long as it wears the black hat of animal disposer. Until it dons the white hat of cruelty prevention full time, and devotes all its finite resources to that mandate, it will always be in the position of betraying animals by agreeing to be society's disposer of unwanted pets.

Will Mr. Daniell and the BC SPCA Board of Directors be willing to sacrifice lucrative pet disposal income in the name of costly but truly animal serving humane work? We sincerely hope so. We are in desperate need of an organization with the legal power to prevent animal cruelty in this province. What we have too many of is used pet retail outlets that are softsoaped and marketed as "no kill pounds" (no such thing) and "shelters". It's time for the SPCA to become part of the solution, instead of capitalizing on the problem.

Jennifer Dickson
Vernon B.C.