VANCOUVER SUN, DECEMBER 2, 2002

15 primates among 100 seized in raid.
Nicholas Read

"For years, they lived knee-deep in feces. Their only source of heat was a single lamp hung outside their cages. Many never saw the sun. Now 15 primates seized over the weekend from an animal collector in Kaslo, near Nelson, are at the B.C. SPCA shelter in Surrey.

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15 primates among 100 seized in raid
Kaslo animal collector faces charges

Nicholas Read
Vancouver Sun
Monday, December 02, 2002
CREDIT: Peter Battistoni, Vancouver Sun

Terrified barbary ape (above) and Japanese snow monkey are now in the care of Surrey SPCA. Over 100 animals were seized from an exotic animal collector in the Interior.

For years, they lived knee-deep in feces. Their only source of heat was a single lamp hung outside their cages. Many never saw the sun.

Now 15 primates seized over the weekend from an animal collector in Kaslo, near Nelson, are at the B.C. SPCA shelter in Surrey.

The society says it is the first time it has ever looked after primates in one of its shelters. And it believes this could be the first time a Canadian humane society has had to seize a collection of primates and other exotic animals on grounds of physical and psychological cruelty.

The primates -- three barbary apes, one Japanese macaque and 11 marmosets -- and 88 other animals were removed from two properties during an eight-hour raid on Saturday.

The macaques and marmosets, as well as a number of exotic birds, including several parrots, are now in the SPCA's Surrey shelter in enclosures purpose-built for their care. The shelter is the largest in the Lower Mainland and the one best equipped to deal with large and unusual animals.

The rest of the animals, which included horses, ponies, a llama, a rhea (an ostrich-type bird from South America) and several pot-bellied pigs -- are now in foster care on a farm not far from where they were seized.

Craig Daniell, newly appointed SPCA general manager of cruelty investigations for the province, said the primates lived their whole lives in a number of small concrete-and-wood enclosures, some of them reeking with feces.

"The animals had not been cared for in terms of providing for their cleanliness," said Daniell. "The attending veterinarian took the decision that the animals were in distress, not least of which was the emotional and psychological distress they were suffering from.

"There was no enrichment in the enclosure."

Daniell said the SPCA hopes to press charges against the primates' owner once the evidence against him is compiled and the animals' condition is fully assessed. That might take two weeks, he said.

He refused to give the owner's name. He also didn't know why the owner had the animals, but said the SPCA has been monitoring the situation for some time.

However, he said a seizure couldn't take place until enclosures were readied in the SPCA for the animals' care. The society has already spent about $25,000 on the case.

"I guess at one stage he had some interest in exotic animals," Daniell said of the owner. "He decided to buy a few, and then liked what he was doing and bought a few more."

The animals are very distressed, said Surrey shelter superintendent Hugh Nichol. Visitors to the Surrey shelter will not be able to see them because having them on display would only worsen their situation.

Nichol said it would be extremely difficult to find permanent homes for the primates because there are few, if any, appropriate facilities for them in Canada, and they may have to go to the U.S.

Two Japanese macaques rescued by the Lifeforce Foundation in 1995 had to be sent to a sanctuary in Texas.

Attending veterinarian Ken Macquisten said he was unable to comment on the case for legal reasons. But Daniell said Macquisten was concerned about the lack of enrichment for the primates. They were kept in small cells with nothing to climb on or forage through, and only a single lamp hanging on a chain-link fence for warmth.

"The only heat source for them was a heat lamp on the side of the enclosure," Daniell said. "They would literally have to hang close to the heat lamp to get any warmth."

It is not the first time the society has seized animals on grounds of psychological cruelty.

A dog in Victoria named Scarlett was seized earlier this year in Victoria after living most of her life on the end of a chain.

Victoria Crown counsel refused to approve charges in that case, but charges have been approved in two cases of psychological cruelty in Chilliwack.

Earlier this year, Chilliwack SPCA staff seized a border collie named Lady from a puppy mill in Agassiz following allegations that Lady was never let off her chain.

The case against the mill owner is scheduled to go to court in January.

The same shelter also was successful in getting counsel to approve charges of psychological cruelty against a woman who abandoned a cat in an empty field.

Shelter superintendent Eileen Drever said the field was unfamiliar to the cat and therefore being left in it would have caused the cat psychological distress.

It is the first time in the society's history that a branch has succeeded in getting Crown attorneys to approve charges of psychological cruelty.

Daniell said the primates, parrots and other exotic animals were seized because of concerns about their welfare. But he said the society is concerned about the unregulated traffic in exotic animals, and believes laws should be introduced at either the provincial or local level to prohibit or restrict that trade.

"The keeping of exotic animals is completely unregulated in Canada," he said. "You don't need any qualifications to house them, and that's a big problem. And until such time as government passes legislation, it will remain a problem."

Both the township of Langley and the city of North Vancouver have already placed some restrictions on the buying and selling of exotic animals.

Bylaws that would restrict their trade and keeping are also being considered by councils in Abbotsford, Surrey, Coquitlam and the Central Okanagan regional district, which includes Kelowna and Peachland.

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