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Agriculture minister's uncle slams SPCA
Humane society accused of Gestapo tactics

Keith Fraser
The Province

March 23, 2005

The uncle of Agriculture Minister John van Dongen yesterday accused the SPCA of Gestapo tactics when they seized three of his horses for alleged mistreatment.

The comment by John van Dongen Sr. was made during cross-examination in his lawsuit against the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in B.C. Supreme Court at Vancouver.

Van Dongen, a longtime horse breeder, is asking for the court to issue an order that the SPCA exceeded its jurisdiction when it seized the animals in December 2003.

Asked by a lawyer for the SPCA what his qualifications for handling animals were, van Dongen launched into a long explanation, tearing a strip off the society at one point.

"It was ridiculous what they did," said van Dongen, who insisted he did no harm to the animals. "I went through the Second World War as a kid. It's just like the Gestapo.

"All you can do is stand back. These people come in like an army, like a bunch of policemen."

B.C. Supreme Court Madam Justice Carol Ross cut off van Dongen's rant at one point.

"Mr. van Dongen, I'm going to stop you here. I appreciate what you're saying to me and I appreciate there's things you need to get off your chest.

"But what you need to do is you need to answer counsel's questions."

Van Dongen testified that five or six police accompanied the SPCA when the animals were seized.

He admitted that just five days before the seizure, police were called when he briefly locked away an SPCA employee who arrived on the premises.

"I demanded that the SPCA president come in after telling them three times to leave my yard and not to come in without notice," he said, in explaining his actions.

The seized horses have been returned and no charges have yet been filed against van Dongen.

The family has had a number of run-ins with the SPCA.

In December, the minister's father, Quirinas van Dongen, had animal cruelty charges against him dismissed after the SPCA seized 108 animals from his Abbotsford property.

kfraser@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2005