Neglect of suffering animals and excessive euthanasia happen too
often at society shelters, two insiders say
Barbara Yaffe
Vancouver Sun
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Most of us don't spend much time thinking about what goes on at
SPCA shelters, assuming society staff and volunteers do the best they
can for homeless animals.
According to two SPCA workers, this is not always the case. They
came forward recently with some disturbing stories about the way the
organization's charges are treated.
SPCA management did not refute much of what the two had to say.
Annie Swift, on unpaid leave, is an employee at a suburban Lower
Mainland shelter; Brigitta MacMillan is a volunteer at a second
shelter. Both started at the B.C. SPCA in 1999.
The two approached me with photographs and e-mails documenting some
horrific situations to illustrate their contention that the SPCA is,
as Swift puts it: "an organization that exists to employ people, and
the animals are a commodity."
Both women used the term "Auschwitz" -- the name of a Second World
War concentration camp in Poland -- to describe what they've witnessed
in their respective shelters, and said there is an alarming
insensitivity around the practice of euthanasia.
An excessive use of euthanasia bothers them; they claim potentially
adoptable animals are sometimes killed for lack of resources or
because they're suffering from a condition as innocuous as a cold.
They are also troubled by the fact sick or injured animals too
often suffer for days without getting access to veterinary care.
Craig Daniell, chief executive officer of the society, says the
SPCA is far from a perfect organization. It has financial challenges
and shelters in dire need of replacement. But no single agency can be
expected to bear total responsibility for society's homeless animals.
The public needs to play its part in respecting and caring for
animals. Daniel correctly noted that some city councils which contract
services from the SPCA think only in terms of budget numbers, rather
than animal welfare.
The SPCA relies heavily on donations to make up its $20-million
budget and donations from areas beyond the Lower Mainland have been
declining since the organization began centralizing its operations in
Vancouver. While the SPCA has been running multimillion-dollar annual
deficits, this year it's expected to balance its books. The problem
is, that to bring its books into the black, the SPCA has had to lay
off many of its staff -- another 25 in 2004 -- and cut back on public
education and other programs.
Aside from more donor money, the SPCA is pushing for some action on
the part of municipalities around B.C. Most city councils have yet to
introduce bylaws making spaying and neutering mandatory. Nor do they
provide grants to ensure needy pet owners have access to the
procedure, which is so essential in curtailing animal overpopulation.
Also, in contrast to the B.C. government, which provides an annual
grant of $71,000 to the SPCA (specifically for the training of animal
cruelty investigators), Alberta gives its SPCA an annual grant of
$750,000, Ontario, $700,000. Money like that would allow the
organization to hire more animal caregivers, upgrade dilapidated
shelters and reinstate programs it has had to cut.
The SPCA takes in 57,000 animals a year. It does not have
statistics on the number that get euthanized although it is working on
compiling them for The Vancouver Sun.
Daniell said he was distressed but not surprised that the SPCA
workers had come forward with concerns about the society. "We are not
a perfect organization, far from it."
He said shelters in some parts of B.C. are "wanting," but would not
compare any to a concentration camp. He cited Nanaimo, Campbell River,
Prince Rupert and Prince George as being first on the list needing
repair or replacement if money were available. In addition, Surrey
badly needs a new shelter, as does the Coquitlam-Maple Ridge-Pitt
Meadows area.
Daniell acknowledged that a lack of resources would be a factor
that could lead to euthanasia, especially if such a circumstance were
combined with other factors such as the animal suffering from a cold
and/or an inability to adopt the animal out.
Shelters have only so much space and finite budgets. But he also
pointed out this should not be happening in the Lower Mainland where
shelters tend to have more resources.
A B.C. SPCA Workplace Review report last April asked SPCA employees
to express concerns about their organization. Nearly 30 per cent of
respondents focused their complaints on animal care and standards,
policies and procedures.
Their specific complaints were alarming: "Euthanasia is
administered inconsistently; animals stressed; animals do not receive
enough direct care and attention; animals are being warehoused;
veterinary attention is sometimes delayed; staff does not seem to
care."
Daniell freely provided the report to The Sun.
The two workers who came forward assert that when animals are
seized as a result of an SPCA cruelty investigation it is possible for
them to wind up receiving poorer care at the SPCA than the place from
which they were seized, or they might wind up being euthanized for any
one of a number of reasons.
Daniell said the two women likely haven't seen the settings from
which such animals are rescued. He personally believes animals are
better off dead than living in such environments or spending their
lives in a cage.
Here again, money would enable small shelters feeling pressure to
keep animals for longer periods of time. More staff might translate
into more contact with animals who are known as companion animals
because they desperately need human contact. Dogs and cats often
become extremely depressed and stressed in crowded shelters where they
are left in cages, and this can lead to them being classed in SPCA
jargon as "unadoptable" and killed.
Private animal shelters in the Lower Mainland, which tend to be
highly critical of the SPCA, often take in some of these critters
destined for death (SPCA volunteers sneak the animals out the back
door). The private shelter owners say they have been able to nurture
and rehabilitate the animals so that they quickly become adoptable and
get a second chance at life in a new home.
Swift and MacMillan showed photos of cats in SPCA cages less that a
metre square. In one of several photos taken surreptitiously by
volunteers over a period of years, four cats are shown without food or
water in their bowls and a litter box badly in need of cleaning.
Daniell, who joined the organization in November, 2002, said the
photo was years old and if it happened today, "that would be grounds
for dismissal." The cages remain the same size, although accommodate
only one cat each.
In another photo shown by the women, an emaciated elderly terrier,
unable to stand, is lying in a cage semi-conscious in his own feces.
The dog was made to wait days to be examined by a vet, at which time
it was euthanized.
Another photo shows a kitten with maggots, which waited two days
before receiving care. By then, it was too late to save the two-month
old tabby.
Daniell said he had looked into these incidents and while they are
factual, the employee responsible for the terrier's care was
identified and "action was taken."
He said animals currently see a vet whenever vet care is required.
He cautioned there is some subjectivity involved in making that
decision so it's at least possible some workers might dispute his
assertion.
A new system of management is now in place and staff can take
concerns to managers and managers can contact the SPCA's chief of
operations to address problems.
Swift said that in her experience her concerns were not followed up
by management although she has been on leave for a while. She also
said she had been disparagingly labelled "a puppy hugger" by some of
her fellow employees, Canadian Union of Public Employees members, too
many of whom have become desensitized and work exclusively for their
paycheques.
Daniell acknowledged this is indeed an unavoidable problem.
In the end, many of the difficulties experienced at the SPCA derive
from poor management practices in the past and an ongoing lack of
cash.
Vancouver is a well-off community; it is truly shameful that we
leave our homeless animals to face such precarious futures.
