http://www.richmondreview.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=45&cat=23&id=321553&more=

By Matthew Hoekstra
Staff Reporter

Homeless cats group wants to take over from SPCA

The B.C. SPCA is waiting for the City of Richmond to respond to its shelter contract proposal as civic lawyers determine whether the city can legally consider a new group to run its No. 5 Road pound.

Carol Reichert, president of the Richmond Homeless Cats Society, appealed to city council Oct. 13 to consider allowing her group of volunteers to seize control of the shelter.
Reichert criticized the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, claiming it has become "mired in bureaucracy," and animals with minor ailments in the society's care are euthanized when treatable.
A council committee agreed to hold off on signing a new shelter contract with the SPCA and consider a proposal from Reichert's group-if it wasn't too late.
City spokesperson Ted Townsend said city staff are evaluating the status of the pending contract with the SPCA and whether or not the city could legally consider a new proposal.
"We have a verbal agreement on a new contract with the SPCA, but that hasn't actually been signed yet."
Since January, the SPCA has been operating the south Richmond shelter without a contract. The SPCA says the city had sent the society a three-year contract, to which some changes were made. The SPCA sent it back to the city for review. Spokesperson Lorie Chortyk said the society expected a final deal by the end of the week.
"(The city) said from their point of view the contract is going ahead," she said.
Reichert said Richmond Homeless Cats, a charity operating in east Richmond for the last five years, is the largest cat sanctuary in North America, with approximately 800 animals in its care.
Although she hasn't submitted a formal proposal to the city, she believes her group of 100 volunteers has the experience and support of the community to do a better job than the SPCA.
"We're not just cat people, we're dog people as well."
Reichert started her quest for the shelter contract after she discovered some animals in the SPCA's care were being euthanized, when they could have been transferred to her sanctuary, she said.
"We are not fanatics or radical people, we recognize that there are some times with a dog where it should be euthanized, but (the SPCA) does nothing," she said.
"There is no way, no matter how hard we try to work, we will not be able to get their co-operation and save lives."
The SPCA has defended its kill record, saying animals are only euthanized if it's inhumane to keep them alive or if there isn't a more appropriate shelter they can be transferred to.
Other municipalities, including Vancouver and Langley, have distanced themselves from the SPCA for shelter services. Earlier this month, the SPCA lost its bid to continue operating Delta's animal shelter.
The decision came after the planned euthanasia of Cheech last spring, a dog deemed a danger to society due to fear-based aggression. Cheech attracted a barrage of media attention after two SPCA employees whisked the dog into hiding before it could be destroyed.