SPCA seeks animal advocates
By Chris Hamlyn The News Bulletin Sep 17 2005

If you care about animals and how they are treated, the Nanaimo branch of the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals needs you."We need people to care," said Linda Ohman, Nanaimo SPCA membership chair.The SPCA needs people to help fulfil its mandate of preventing cruelty and promoting the welfare of all animals in need, domestic, farm or wild."Members play a vital role in our ability to lobby government to enact laws that improve animal welfare," said Ohman who explained that currently, animals fall under the property act."We want to change that," said Ohman. "Animals are feeling, caring beings, not just property. We want to see all animals treated with respect, care and compassion."
They are also lobbying for higher penalties for abusing animals.Apart from giving the society a strong voice, volunteers are vital to help the SPCA with fundraising, animal care, dog walking, and all the many activities that the society undertakes.For more information, please call the SPCA at 754-8444.

Question: Good P.R., but what exactly is the BC SPCA or the Nanaimo SPCA doing to change animals's legal status as property? We would welcome being informed and would post the information here.

Warning! Watch out for the seemingly benign wish for more power for the SPCA. There are already many abuses of statutory power under CEO Craig Daniell and we suspect the SPCA wants its power expanded. Legislators must be fully informed before making the mistakes they made in 1994 when they gave increased police powers to a monopoly; a monopoly with the astonishing legal ability to hide everything from Freedom of Information; a monopoly that had for decades flouted the law requiring it to submit audited financial statements; a monopoly with no oversight!

Some MLA's warned of the clear possibility of abuse of power in 1994. You can read it here...

http://www.animaladvocates.com/seizures/ (Click on Excerpts from Hansard, in 1994 some MLAs warned this would happen)