Yesterday morning on CBC radio a Native spokesperson said that no Native would mistreat an animal that way.

We have twenty years of proof that the worst cruelty to animals is on BC's reserves, both by nelect and by deliberate acts of violence such as hanging, slashing, running over with vehicles, dog-fighting, beating to death, and torching.

There are a few reserve residents, some of them First Nations, who are trying to change this. But none of them will truthfully say what is going on, and so the SPCA can go on largely ignoring this blatant cruelty.

Historically, and even in the last year, the SPCA has told complainants that it can't investigate cruelty on reserves without the permission of the Band.

This is totally false - the PCA Act covers all of BC, including reserves. But it has worked very effectively to get rid of the complainers.

Telling the truth about the way animals are often treated on reserves is not racist as the SPCA has accused AAS of in its lawsuit against the AAS website. There are many reasons why life on reserves is dysfunctional for humans and animals. But denying it is immoral.

And even worse than denying it is having the power to stop animals from being tortured and doing nothing.