Animal Advocates Watchdog

Letter of thanks to Mayor Brodie and Councillors

Dear Mayor Brodie and Councillors,

Although I live in Burnaby, I'm still a taxpayer in Richmond so I would like to take a moment to thank you awarding the Richmond Animal Shelter contract to the Richmond Animal Protection Society (RAPS).

This is a very positive step in moving toward a society that treats animals humanely with a focus on prevention and community education. RAPS has my support as they begin the arduous task of responding to public safety concerns, abandoned animals and humane education all at the same time.

The BCSPCA has lost a great deal of credibility over the past several years due to poor management, animal neglect on many occaisons and costly lawsuits that tried to keep its critic silent but ultimately did nothing to create a better life for animals.

I would also encourage Council to keep on task with holding people accountable for animal neglect by advocating for legislation at the appropriate government levels. Regardless of how hard RAPS works and how transparent their agency is in terms of finances and policy, the root cause of animal neglect resides with all members of society. Many issues such as feral cats, spay and neuter campaigns, puppy mills and animal dumping (where the old dog gets dumped only to be replaced by a puppy) still need to be tackled.

I'm not sure whether Richmond City Council responded more to complaints from the community or concern for the animals. Regardless of the underlying motivation, you have stepped up to the plate when it really counted. This is a good beginning for a more humane society overall.

Sincerely
JL Ratzlaff
Burnaby BC

Messages In This Thread

City of Richmond Awards Shelter Contract to RAPS! *LINK*
Richmond Review - Dec 14 2006 - Every dog has its day
Chortyk said the SPCA can provide services others can’t, particularly around cruelty investigations
Richmond Review - Dec 16 2006 - Price, lack of animal control services sinks SPCA
Richmond News Dec 15 2006 - SPCA poised to lose contract
Richmond Review Sep 9 2006 - Animal group seeks to claw shelter from SPCA
Working in Harmony with Big Heart Rescue *LINK*
Could this be one reason why the SPCA lost the Richmond contract? Frozen monkeys and other neglected complaints *LINK*
Letter of thanks to Mayor Brodie and Councillors
The SPCA accuses AAS of being responsible for its loss of pound contracts

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