BC SPCA pleased with 10-year ban for Texada resident convicted of animal neglect
March 11, 2005. For immediate release. The BC SPCA says it is pleased with the 10-year ban on obtaining new animals handed down to Texada Island resident Doris Chambers after she pled guilty in a Powell River court to causing distress to animals. Crown Counsel charged Chambers under the BC Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act following an SPCA investigation in October 2003 in which SPCA cruelty officers seized 52 animals in distress from her property.

The seized animals included 25 chickens, four adult Yorkshire Terriers, three Yorkshire Terrier puppies, seven ducks, five pheasants, three parrots, two love birds, one rabbit, one goat and one canary. “The animals were kept in absolutely filthy conditions with injurious objects strewn about,” says Senior Animal Protection Officer Eileen Drever. “The dogs were also suffering from numerous painful abscesses due to advanced and chronic periodontal disease that had gone untreated.” She says the dogs were immediately treated with antibiotics and pain medications and later underwent extensive dental surgery. All of the animals removed from the property have been rehabilitated by the SPCA and adopted into loving homes.

“While Chambers only received a $1 fine, the most important part of the sentencing for us was the ban on obtaining additional animals,” says Marcie Moriarty, General Manager of Cruelty Investigations for the BC SPCA. “When we know animals have been neglected, a court-ordered ban is one of the most effective ways of ensuring that other innocent animals are not harmed by the same individual.”

Further information:
Marcie Moriarty, General Manager, Cruelty Investigation: (604) 647-1318;
Eileen Drever, Senior Animal Protection Officer, BC SPCA: (604) 834-7854
Lorie Chortyk, Community Relations Manager, BC SPCA:
(604) 647-1316, 1-800-665-1868, or 830-7179 (cell);