In Victoria people who call trying to surrender animals are told there is at least a three month wait list.

Those of us who also receive phone calls resulting from this understand the majority of these people are not going to be able to keep these cats for the minimum of three months that they are being asked to. Where does the Victoria Branch of the BC SPCA think these cats go? Or perhaps it simply does not matter as long as they do not have to take them in ?

This is a far cry from the recent article printed in the Surrey News Leader (below) asking people to bring their cats to the Surrey SPCA rather than dump them out on farms.

Are cats dumped in Victoria more likely to survive without food, water and shelter than in Surrey?

What is the BC SPCA Policy on Surrender?

Surrey News
Gabriella's Christmas wish

By Jeff Nagel Black Press
Nov 27 2005

First she was abandoned at a local farm.
Then her hind legs were chewed up -either by a wild animal or a close encounter with a car tire.
It's been a rough couple of months for the cat they're calling Gabriella.
"Just like the angel," explains Surrey SPCA manager Tanya Firmage. "And she certainly needs a Christmas wish."
Somehow, this kitty keeps purring and doesn't nip handlers - even when they handle the leg with exposed bone and ligaments.
That gentle demeanour is what has animal shelter staff convinced she's a loving pet who was dumped by her owners.
"She's in excruciating pain but she still won't bite us," Firmage said. "They don't behave that affectionately unless they're someone's pet. A cat that responds that well to people when she's in that kind of pain is a really good cat."
Gabriella was brought in to the SPCA Thursday by a Surrey farmer.
He first noticed her on his 184 Street property in September, when he purchased the farm, and had been trying to catch her for the past week after realizing she was injured.
The shelter has sent the domestic short-haired cat to a vet for immediate treatment, and amputation hasn't been ruled out.
The shelter, at 6706 152 Street, is accepting donations toward Gabriella's treatment.
Once she recovers and is spayed, they'll take applications for her adoption.
Firmage says Gabriella's sad story is a classic example of why owners shouldn't dump unwanted pets at farms.
It's widely assumed cats are basically wild and adapt quickly - especially to a farm setting.
"People think (cats) can just live there and catch mice," Firmage said. "For those people considering dumping their family pet out on a farm, this could be the tragic result."
Pet owners who have to give up their animals should bring them to the shelter -after trying to find another home - rather than dumping them.
"I hate to think of the number of animals that we don't get to that suffer and die," Firmage said.

Surrey SPCA health technician Leo Pinto examines an injured cat that was picked up on a farm recently. The cat, named Gabriella, doesn't bite her human caregivers, despite having a serious leg wound.