On November the 24th, Global TV ran a uncritical, uninvestigated, puff piece for the BC SPCA promoting the SPCA's "Biscuit Fund". We write the following letter to Global and have not had a relpy of course. We urge everyone who sees any uncritical promotion of the SPCA in their media to write a letter giving the facts. For the most part, the media still does not "get it", but eventually it will, if we keep informing it. And once the media is fully informed, the SPCA will have no choice but to practice honest animal welfare. And that is the single greatest thing you can do for suffering animals in BC.

SPCA's cash cow Biscuit Fund: Milking sick and injured animals

Global News Room:
You should be aware that the dogs that the SPCA featured on your news promotion for them on November 24th were refused any medical help by the Chilliwack and the Abbotsford branches of the SPCA. The dogs were not left in this state, the owner quickly begged everywhere for help, including the SPCA. When the SPCA decided that it could milk this story, it threatened the owner with charges (never laid) and forced the owner to give up his dogs. The owners are kind-hearted Natives and were easily bullied and intimidated. Instead of the help they begged for, they were threatened and publicly vilified and their dogs were taken away from them. There is a very credible witness to all of this, including the dishonest way SPCA forced the owner to give up his dogs. Most of the SPCA's Spud story has been brazenly and cruelly manipulated by the SPCA. The real story can be read here: http://www.animaladvocates.com/Watchdog/PorcupineDogs.htm

Here is the truth about the Biscuit Fund from the SPCA's own internal website. Note this: Money donated is pooled in a provincial fund. So, when donators think they are giving to one specific sick animal that is being used to raise funds, they are not.

And this, The medical and rehabilitation costs to be incurred must be reasonable, taking into account the adoptability of the animal. In other words, old and ugly need not apply.

...decisions will have to be made quickly an ad hoc committee will be struck to review each application, within 24 hours. So critical injured or ill animals can just wait in pain and suffering for as long as 24 hours because no money will be approved until this committee meets and decides. Under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, it is an offence to permit an animal to be in pain or suffering. The SPCA does this all the time of course, but now it has been codified.

In those cases where a story raises a lot of support for the Fund, the Committee will do its best to ensure that the animal featured in the story is assisted through the Fund. So, the public can be milked using a sad story, but the animal may not even get any help from the Biscuit Fund.

Dr Jamie Lawson is so very good on TV with his appealing "Just look into their eyes". Dr Lawson is responsible for training SPCA staff in in-house, cheap killing of unsellable dogs and cats, using live SPCA dogs and cats, which, just to be clear, are dead once the training is over.

The SPCA has every right to raise funds this way...if the funds are being used honestly for honest animal welfare, not just to fix its $10 million dollar deficit and to pay for more management perks.