Marcie Moriarty Letter About the Gwen Wilson Seizure

Hope Standard

February 16, 2006

Dear Editor,

I would appreciate the opportunity to clarify some facts about the SPCA's necessity to remove 75 cats from the custody of local resident Gwen Wilson. The SPCA responded to a formal complaint from a member of the public who was concerned about the health and safety of the animals in Ms. Wilson's care. When our animal protection officers came to check on the property they found the cats in various states of acute medical distress — starving, dehydrated, covered in raw sores, caked in thick layers of dried feces, infested with parasites and suffering from painful, untreated medical conditions. While we understand the sympathy that is being directed towards Ms. Wilson, we hope people will also appreciate that it was the SPCA's duty and responsibility to ensure that those animals received the urgent medical treatment that they needed.

Ms. Wilson states in your story that the number of cats got "out of control" but, contrary to what was alleged in your story, she had the option at any time to surrender those animals at no cost to the SPCA. We believe that if your readers were aware of the horrific conditions from which the animals were rescued, they would understand that the SPCA's intervention was an absolute necessity to relieve the suffering of these animals.

Sincerely,

Marcie Moriarty
General Manager, Cruelty Investigations
BC SPCA

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