The BC SPCA holds staff training seminars on how to euthanasia animals. And it holds staff training seminars in how to assess who lives and who dies.

But we have never heard of it holding staff training seminars on the ethics of true animal welfare.

If you are wondering if the SPCA uses live animals to teach staff how to kill animals, the answer is yes. The animals are not alive after the training session is complete though.

No true animal-welfarists needs training in how decide who dies, and how to kill them. Only animal disposers need that training.

No true animal welfarist would themselves perform an euthanasia. (Note: the SPCA does not perform euthanasia, which is the ending of life to end unrelievable suffering and is compassionate. The SPCA kills.) If the only humane action was to end a life, a real animal welfarist has a trained vet do it.

The SPCA has a variety of ways to kill animals. In Kelowna it was seen killing dogs by the cardiac injection method. Cardiac puncture is the injection of Euthanyl by large needle through the ribs and abdominal muscle and into the heart. Independent veterinary opinion says it is very painful and terrifying - even if the heart is not missed. If the heart is missed, it can result in the Euthanyl flooding the abdominal cavity or lungs and slow, agonizing death. Independent veterinary opinion is that this method is sometimes used on dogs if the administrators are not trained or proficient in finding veins for intravenous injection. The BC VMA does not approve it as a method of euthanasia for dogs. SPCA admits that shelter staff euthanized the dogs, not a veterinarian.

When you consider the volume of killing the SPCA does, it is much cheaper to do in-house killing.