 |
From the SPCA's
web site, http://www.spca.bc.ca/about.htm
"Whether it’s an abandoned
litter of kittens, horses without food on their winter range, or a stranded marine
mammal — the SPCA is there to help animals in need. "
When you read the following, you may wonder why the SPCA hires and
keeps people like Bob Gordon. When staff do something so horribly inhumane that the public
is outraged and starts to get wise, management wrings its hands and says "Oh what can
we do with such people? Our hands are tied, they’re unionized". But in fact,
management couldn’t carry out their pound contract work if the employees weren't
willing to kill some animals. |
| Bob Gordon, the superintendent of the Vancouver
"shelter" repeatedly shot a friendly sea lion in front of boaters in
Vancouver harbour in 1986 without finding out if it was well and friendly (it was), and
who was never fired or even demoted. In fact, he was promoted to a management position
with the Vancouver SPCA. The innocent sea lion, grievously
wounded by Gordon, managed to get off the dock and into the safety of the water, but was
too injured to swim away. Gordon went back to the SPCA and 45 minutes later arrived back
with a much bigger gun, and this time finished the job. He just kept shooting the
harmless, friendly creature until it was dead. (The Vancouver Sun; Sept 10, Sept 11, Oct
11/86)
No union could have prevented the firing of an employee of an
organization supposed to be "dedicated to protecting animals" after such a
grossly cruel act. Management of a pound-contracting business needs employees
whose job it is to kill animals, because management has so aggressively pursued pound
contracts. The Vancouver SPCA now has 18 private pound contracts with municipalities in
the lower mainland. They need people who will not only kill animals for a paycheque, but
say in fund-raising appeals that it
protects and loves them - at the same time!
Just straightforward municipal poundkeepers must kill dogs, but they
don’t have to dissemble about it, and that’s why some pounds have better
employees than some SPCA’s, and are more humane. Straightforward pound employees
don't have an image of animal-loving and animal-protecting to maintain.
Not only was Gordon not fired, he wasn’t even charged under
fisheries regulations for not having a permit to kill a Sea Lion, as was urged by Paul
Watson of the Sea Shepherd Society. And he is now the Vancouver SPCA’s Director of
Field Operations. |
THEY
SHOOT FAWNS DON’T THEY?
 |
Yes – they do. In the fall of 1998, M.B. of Burnaby found a fawn lying beside the road,
stunned, but with no outward signs of physical injury. M.B. had watched the mother deer
and her two fawns, come out of the woods near her house and cross to the woods on the
other side of the road all summer. M.B. loves all animals, but this fawn felt like her
child, and she pulled over to help it. She had always believed in the SPCA, so she quickly
phoned the Vancouver SPCA/Pound in Burnaby, and while she waited (over an hour) for them
to arrive, she cradled the unresisting but alert fawn’s head in her lap, and cuddled
it and told it how it was going to be okay, and that no one would hurt it, and it would be
back with it’s mother and sibling soon, and all the comforting things that gentle
people say to hurt and frightened children and animals.
At last the SPCA arrived. M.B. asked where would it go, assuming it
would be taken to a vet. She was told, to her horror, that the fawn was too badly injured
and would have to be destroyed, without any examination or expertise or getting another
opinion . M.B, still believing the SPCA would only do what’s most humane, asked if it
would be killed by humane injection? Can’t, was the reply. Too big. Won’t work.
Has to be shot. The fawn was put in the SPCA van and taken to its fate. |
| A month later, M.B. heard a commotion outside, and saw
out her window, the Burnaby RCMP carrying the other fawn, also injured, to one of their
cruisers. Oh no! It was happening again! M.B. rushed out, and begged the officer not to
shoot the fawn. He looked at her oddly and said, "We don’t shoot deer, lady,
we’re taking this fawn the Burnaby Wildlife Refuge. M.B.
no longer trusts the SPCA
|
LUCKY FOR ROCKY THE SPCA ISN’T ARMED
 |
In the fall of 1998, the neighbours of a cul de sac in
Surrey became the unofficial caretakers of Rocky, a stunningly beautiful young wolf
hybrid. He had been on the loose for several weeks, and the neighbours’ inquiries of
the Vancouver Regional SPCA/Pound in Surrey determined that he had been reported to them
in several different locations and that his owner no longer wanted him. This was a
remarkable group of neighbours, because they all realized that though Rocky was timid of
adults and wouldn’t allow himself to be caught, he was very gentle and no threat to
anyone. All the kids in the neighbourhood could pat him, but adults couldn’t. These
kind people fed Rocky and so he stayed around. Thinking the SPCA would want to help Rocky,
they asked the SPCA to catch him. The Surrey SPCA came grudgingly, sat and smoked, and
said they couldn’t catch him. |
Highly dissatisfied with this cavalier
and uncaring response, one of the neighbours, C.M., phoned Brian Nelson, the Director of
Field Operations of the Vancouver Regional SPCA. Nelson is the man who ran his own pound
business, Mainland Animal Control and had contracts for disposing of excess dogs in
Langley, Chilliwack, Pitt Meadows and Anmore for 7 years, until he was bought out by the
Vancouver SPCA, his pound contracts bought out, and was given a highly paid management job
with a salary of possibly $100,000 a year or more, plus perks. Mr Nelson said he would see
to it that the Surrey SPCA tried harder. The Surrey SPCA came again, and again made little
or no attempt to catch Rocky. Thank God! Because Surrey has a reputation for automatically
killing wolf hybrids. C.M. again phoned Nelson to complain. This time Nelson said,
"If I hear one more complaint about that dog, I’ll come out there and shoot it
myself". C.M. phoned Animal Advocates and within ten minutes of arriving we had Rocky
in our car and heading to our vet. Rocky lay his head on our shoulder the whole long trip.
We had him neutered and we found him the home from heaven, with a
family that has two other rescued dogs, has had hybrids before and understands them, and
now Rocky sleeps on the furniture and goes up the mountain or down to the beach every day.
We have been told by M.W. who was in the union with Mr Nelson, when
he was an employee of the Surrey SPCA, before he started his own dog disposal business,
that at union meetings, Mr Nelson several times expressed the wish that SPCA officers
carry guns. If the SPCA ever gets armed – hide your animals!
|
The story of the abandoned rabbits
on the grounds of Victoria General Hospital brought out a clear example of the SPCA's
tendency to control animals (which pays), not help animals (which costs). The SPCA’s
immediate and only solution was to kill them. It was the true humane groups that rushed in
with no-kill solutions. Individuals and groups, with no or little money saved the rabbits
without resorting to callous brutality. The SPCA’s solutions to excess animals is too
frequently to kill. We believe that’s because they are set up to euthanize –
they are in the business of killing. They have owned the equipment to kill for a long
time, and it only makes good business sense to use that equipment to earn income.
February 1,2000: Victoria SPCA manager decides to
hire a hunter to kill all the rabbits at night. But would an animal-lover do this,
or does this smack of a solution made by an animal-controller? The SPCA has been killing
animals for a long time. It's certainly cheaper than true humane work, true
animal-welfare. To see what we mean, look at their financial statements (what they’ll let you see). |
