May 9, 2003

Letter to the Editor – Vic News

Re: New SPCA Policy Under Fire – May 9, 2003

I was one of the many people who were not impressed with the Companion Animal Management Program presentation given on April 28, 2003 at the Victoria Branch of the BC SPCA. In fact, I was appalled and disgusted at what I heard from head office staff of the BC SPCA.

The BC SPCA’s Companion Animal Management Program is nothing but a ruthless band-aid solution for companion animals in British Columbia. The BC SPCA has launched this program completely backwards – instead of continuing to kill excess pets, they need to start attacking the problem by:

· Prevent overpopulation by offering low cost spay/neuter programs and offer FREE spay/neuter programs in problem areas
· Spay/neuter ALL SHELTER animals before adoption (this is not common practice at all BC SPCA shelters)
· License all breeders (including backyard breeders)
· Continue to close down puppy mills and investigate cruelty cases, and
· Educate/penalize irresponsible pet guardians

This may seem obvious, but if these solutions were focused on first, then there would obviously be FEWER animals for the BC SPCA to house and care for.

The money that has been wasted on CAMP would have been better spent on an intensive provincial spay/neuter program such as the aggressive spay/neuter program that the Victoria SPCA Community Advisory Committee (in conjunction with Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders) embarked on last year. This aggressive spay/neuter program has made a significant impact on reducing the number of litters of kittens so far this year.

I feel that donors would like to see their money spent on programs that get to the root of the problem instead of being wasted on cruel and ineffective programs with fancy names and overpaid head office staff.

While I agree that it is the community’s responsibility to care for their animals, the BC SPCA has collected millions of dollars in donations over the years based on the premise that they are caring for the community’s unwanted animals. If this isn’t the case, then the BC SPCA had better come clean and let their members and donors know that they are in fact going to continue to kill many of the animals that come into the “shelters”, not care for them.

I was the Chairperson of the Victoria SPCA Community Advisory Committee and had strongly supported the BC SPCA in the past, but I resigned because of the implications of CAMP. I will not support the BC SPCA in their misguided attempts to deal with unwanted animals in British Columbia.

Yours truly,

Jo-Anne Chambers