SPCA STATS ACCORDING TO CRAIG DANIELL AND LORIE CHORTYK

In a interview with the Tri City News in Coquitlam, Chortyk makes trouble for the new humane animal shelter that replaced Coquitlam's contract with the SPCA for dog control. When the new shelter tells a caller that it cannot go to pick up a cat, Chortyk makes it sound like the SPCA used to do that as an added service to the dog control contract it used to have with the City of Coquitlam. Here is our letter to the Tri-City News which printed the misleading statements by Chortyk:

April 1, 2002

The Letters Editor,
The Tri City News,
Coquitlam

Statements made by SPCA spokesperson, Lorie Chortyk, give the impression that the Vancouver SPCA picked up stray cats all the time. When I did cat rescue I heard countless times from people who had phoned the SPCA about a stray cat who were told that they would have to bring the cat in to the SPCA themselves and were even told that it may killed. They weren't told it may be killed immediately, but stray cats often were killed immediately as the SPCA had no pound contract that said it had to hold the cat a certain number of days, so that the owner had a chance to claim it, as there is with dogs. In fact, in five years of cat rescue, not one person ever told me that the SPCA had come to pick up a cat, except dead ones at the side of the road which the SPCA did have contracts to pick up. Maybe Chortyk is talking about picking up dead cats?

Judy Stone,
President,
Animal Advocates Society of BC

More misinforming statements to the press from Chortyk...

December 27, 2001

The Letters Editor,
The North Shore News,

SPCA Community Relations Director Lorie Chorytk is quoted as saying that the SPCA does not routinely euthanise healthy animals to provide space. Tell that to the volunteers at the Maple Ridge SPCA who were told that a perfectly healthy young dog that had just been surrendered would be killed within hours if the volunteers didn't find a foster home for it. The volunteers did - and a vet kindly took the dog in, but when it had to go back to the SPCA, the SPCA killed it anyway. (Read the story, click here) This is just one example of many that contradicts Chortyk's statement.

Chortyk further says that the SPCA is an "open" shelter (sounds so caring) whereas "no-kill" shelters, which the District of North Vancouver is going to try to be, turns down dogs (sounds so heartless). But the truth is that there are far more abandoned animals than there are homes and so every "open" shelter becomes full and then what are they to do? Unless they have limitless space and money, they have to kill some animals - some animal has to take the long walk down the hall to make room for the next animal. For the District to be no-kill it may have to say to animal dumpers, "We are full, you will have to find a home yourself for your pet". That is the only moral and ethical thing to do.

The SPCA is protecting the paid job of "disposing" of society's unwanted, unsellable, pets, (Read more, click here and here)

Judy Stone,
President, Animal Advocates Society of BC

The SPCA, in its newsmagazine, 2001, claims to only kill fewer than one percent of animals. Chortyk has many times been quoted as saying that the SPCA adopts 99% of animals. This is insultingly false but it needs answering as the media just keeps repeating it, parrot-like. The ex-manager of the Vancouver SPCA's pound-contracting empire, Brian Nelson, said otherwise, publicly, many times, when it suited the SPCA's purposes. He said that only 3% of stray cats are reclaimed, and we know that not many are sold, certainly not 97%.

From Brigitta who watches the Maple Ridge SPCA: "If you read between the lines they're saying any number of dogs can be killed for being "sick" or having "behavioural problems" as defined by any shelter employee. The cats have it worse. Any healthy, loving trusting cat can be killed for taking up more room than the SPCA cares to allow. But, when you exclude any animal who can be deemed sick, having behaviour problems or taking up too much space, then by God, they've saved 99% of the remainder alright!"

Read more on false SPCA euthanasia statistics, click here

05/11/2001
Animal bylaw amendments never enforced in Delta

By Matthew Burrows
After openly criticizing the Delta SPCA for its pound contract with Delta council, the Animal Advocates Society of B.C. recently learned that 1996 "neglect" amendments to the animal bylaws have never been enforced.

The information came to light after the North Vancouver-based society sent a letter, dated April 10, to Delta council asking whether Bylaw 5128, amendment 5436, had ever been enforced.

Lance Renyk, superintendent of the Delta SPCA, wrote in his April 20 reply, "We have not ticketed any person in Delta for failing to comply with our neglect sections of our bylaw, but would do so if no other viable solution could be found to help a dog or cat."

Stone asked for this confirmation because she is concerned that dogs tied up and left to flounder on choke-chains with no food or water are not rescued early enough by the SPCA. She is adamant Delta SPCA has continuously ignored the amended section of the bylaw, rather than not having to use it.

"The problem with that," said Renyk, "is that you’ll drive by a home and see a dog in excellent health and good condition, but with a 10-foot chain. If I go up to the owner and ask how often he lets the dog off and he says ‘One hour in the last 24,’ what can I do to disprove him? I’d have to stay for 24 hours, which just isn’t feasible. I don’t like a dog on a chain, but what can I do?"

Stone, for her part, insists the SPCA become more active in saving more dogs to justify the large donations people pledge to the organization, "believing the money goes to help the dogs at their pound."

Lorie Chortyk, communications director of the regional SPCA, has long known about AAS and believes they should ease off. "We’re not a perfect organization by any means, but what she (Stone) is saying is simply inaccurate. Last year we received 24,156 dogs and we placed 99 per cent of them."

Chortyk's words are what is "inaccurate".