Maple Ridge Times

November 7, 2003

Animals will feel these cuts

On Thursday, the SPCA announced layoffs and service cutbacks at shelters.

The Maple Ridge shelter in Albion was not spared the axe. One front-line staff member was cut, although the shelter hours will apparently remain unaffected.

The reason for this sudden, unexpected action was the revelation that the animal protection agency is mired in debt.

The budget deficit is the last straw as far as we're concerned. This organization is a rudderless ship heading for a giant iceberg.

And the animals will be the ones going down with the ship.

The SPCA has been a disorganized mess, with too many changes in leadership and direction. There was the sudden moratorium on euthanizing animals, a move made without any planning for the backlog of animals it would produce. There have been annoucements of regional shelters that haven't come to fruition, as well as confusing policy statements about which direction the SPCA is heading.

Now the local shelter will have one less staff member at a time when it can't keep up with the workload it already has.

The SPCA has been hurt by its management changes - changes resulting in huge buyouts. Perhaps an independent auditor could get to the bottom of where the organization is wasting its money.

In the meantime, the public can help by spaying and neutering their animals. No sense in adding to the workload.