Animal Advocates of B.C.
A COOPERATIVE OF ANIMAL-LOVERS AND ACTION-TAKERS

An all-volunteer registered charitable organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating animals that official agencies will not help.

Donations are tax-deductible registration # 887809267RR0001

2001

These letters prove that the SPCA stopped a definition of neglect from being added to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and that the SPCA has been deliberately avoiding prevention of cruelty to animals.


STELLA chained 2.JPG (47339 bytes)
 

THE SPCA SAYS "THE LAWS AREN’T ADEQUATE" WHEN IT REFUSES TO TAKE ANY ACTION TO HELP A SUFFERING ANIMAL.

BUT IT IS THE SPCA THAT STOPPED AAS FROM GETTING A DEFINITION OF NEGLECT INCLUDED IN THE PCA ACT THAT WOULD HAVE HELPED THEM TO PREVENT SUFFERING

Why would they do that? click here

From the very top to the bottom, no one at the BC/Vancouver/Coquitlam SPCA would help this abandoned mother dog. Her owners moved out and left her like this - no water, her puppies, and what little food there was, out of reach. The neighbour’s windows overlooked her yard, and when, after three days, they realized her owners weren’t coming back for her, they phoned the Vancouver SPCA/Pound in this municipality. The usual lack of interest was shown, hostile questions asked, aggressively negative comments made, but finally, after two more people phoned, the SPCA came and did what AAS calls a "drive by" inspection. An inspector looked around the side of the house (so he would be able to describe the yard and the dog?), and then left. He didn’t know the neighbour was watching. When the neighbour phoned to ask what they were going to do, the inspector said, "We’d like to help her, but our hands are tied, no law is being broken ."  We don’t believe it’s true when he said there was nothing the SPCA could do, because Animal Advocates Society’s very specific "Humane Treatment of Dogs" bylaws had been adopted in that municipality, and the Provincial Protection of Cruelty to Animals Act could cover this situation, as it leaves the interpretation of abuse and neglect for the SPCA to decide. (See A Lawyer's Opinion) The now angry neighbour phoned the Vancouver SPCA Head Office and told the whole story to CEO Douglas Hooper, who repeated "Our hands are tied, there’s no law being broken". Animal Advocates was then called by one of the frustrated neighbours, and so we anonymously phoned the Provincial Head Office of the BC SPCA and talked to CEO Al Hickey. And he too repeated the SPCA excuse: "There is nothing we can do for her, our hands are tied, there just isn’t adequate legislation". Stories like this have been told to us many, many times by people who cannot get the SPCA to help a suffering animal.

This story has an interesting twist...

Animal Advocates had recently approached its member of the legislature, Ted Nebbling, to ask the provincial government to include the "Humane Treatment of Dogs" laws which we had had successfully adopted in many lower mainland municipalities, into the provincial Protection of Cruelty to Animals Act so that all dogs in the province would be further protected. Mr Nebbling immediately proposed a private members bill.  It received an enthusiastic, all-party positive response. The minister who oversees the Act, Corky Evans, (Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) naturally asked the Head of the whole SPCA in B.C., CEO Al Hickey, for his opinion. Mr Evans, along with almost all politicians, all the media, and most of the public, believe that the SPCA has the best interests of animals at heart.  Mr Hickey wrote back to say, "That it is satisfied with the current wording of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act." That letter from Mr Evans, stopping a definition of neglect from being added to the PCA act, and that could have allowed the public to insist that the SPCA apprehend suffering dogs, is below.

Hickey wrote this letter to Corky Evans almost on the same day he told Animal Advocates that he'd like to help that little mother dog, but his hands were tied because...
...the laws weren't adequate!
(She was rescued and is now a full member of a loving family – which is as it should be for every dog)

Why would the SPCA lie this way?  Why do they seem to be avoiding preventing cruelty to animals? The SPCA and the Animal Welfare Business, and Seizure Costs Money

Read the PCA Act, click here
Read a lawyer's opinion of the SPCA and the Act, click here


THESE LETTERS PROVE THAT THE SPCA LIED TO ANIMAL ADVOCATES SOCIETY

Letter #1

Corky Evans, Al Hickey.TIF (11856 bytes)                                                       
                                                                                        File:   280-30
                                                                                        MT97-001476
                                                                                        MT97-001477
June 24, 1997

Judy Stone, President
Animal Advocates Society of B.C.

Dear Judy Stone:

Thank you for your letter regarding abused dogs and the proposed private member's bill.

I encourage you to continue to work with local governments to establish local bylaws concerning standards of care for dogs.  I am pleased to see that you have already had much success with this approach.

I am informed by the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) that it is satisfied with the current wording of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and that it is not interested at this time in amending the wording of the act.  Nonetheless, I encourage you to contact Al Hickey, Chief Executive Officer of the BCSPCA, to discuss your views.  Mr Hickey may be reached at the society's Vancouver headquarters at (604) 681-7271.

Again, thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention.

Sincerely,

Corky Evans
Minister

cc:  The Honourable Glen Clark
Premier

Members of the Legislative Assembly

Al Hickey

Shortly after, Hickey retired, so we phoned Douglas Brimacombe, the new CEO of the BC SPCA, again anonymously, and he said exactly the same thing.  And he added, when we asked him if the SPCA was trying to make the laws adequate, that Yes, they were working with the provincial government to improve the laws.  We then wrote the Agriculture Ministry to ask if they were currently working with the BC SPCA to improve the PCA Act.  No, is the answer we got. 

Letter #2

Corky Evans, not at this time.TIF (11262 bytes) File:   0280-30
Ref:  37016

January 24, 2000

We have not received any requests from the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to make any legislative changes to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and no such legislative initiatives are underway at this time.

Sincerely,

Corky Evans

Minister


© 2001  
Animal Advocates Society of B.C. [Canada]

  Editor: Judith Stone