"In the Cook Islands, sick and injured animals are treated for free and pets are sterilized for free. 95% of revenue is spent directly on animal programs."

In BC, there are third world conditions for animals on every reserve in the province, but it's only spoken of honestly in whispers by those who see it and are trying to help the innocent animal victims. The human social problems on reserves are discussed endlessly and openly without accusations of racism: violence, drugs, addictions, guns, crime, and child neglect and abuse. But if one speaks of the endemic and execrable animal abuse and neglect, one is immediately accused of racism. Consequently the heart-rending abuse goes on under animal-lovers' radar, and consequently barely funded. If only the public knew the truth, funding would pour in, but the media pay no attention to the hard-working little groups in BC who are saving so many lives and preventing so many births. There are hundreds of these little alternative groups and thousands of individuals, doing the majority of animal welfare in BC out of tiny budgets and their own pockets. Many of them spend 100% of their incomes on direct care.

In BC, there is only one organization that spends most of its tiny income on reserve animal assistance programs and that is Big Heart Rescue.

We have seen for ourselves the egregious indifference to cruelty and neglect on several reserves; we have been told of dog-fighting rings; we have been told of starving horses. But the worst cruelty seems to be to dogs. Many are chained with no shelter all winter; shot, run over, left to struggle for survival with broken limbs and bodies while being attacked by packs of hungry dogs, slashed with knives, drowned, hung, starved and tortured. There is no self-directed spay and neuter on reserves - the solution to over-population of roaming dogs is to shoot them.

The lives of dogs on reserves is worse than in most third world countries where at least the weather is warm and tourists feed them. Yet BC animal lovers have no idea that their concern and money is needed for animals on BC reserves much more than for animals in Mexico or the Caribbean. Why don't they know this?

We would like to see the BC SPCA, BC's official and wealthiest animal welfare and protection society, make reserve animal victims a priority. Perhaps it could set up a fund for reserve animals, invite BC Vets to donate some hours a year, and hold spay/neuter and vaccination clinics in rotation at all BC reserves. A SWAT team would be needed to respond quickly to sick and injured pets. By using volunteers, the Esther Honey Foundation in the Cook Islands spends only 5% on administration. Is there a valid reason why that can't be done in BC, especially since there is such a large body of experienced animal rescuers in BC and Big Heart Rescue's years of hands-on experience organizing reserve clinics, to draw on?