From the SPCA web site (link below)
August 2002
Cat Abandonment Leads to Charges

"The Chilliwack Branch of the BC SPCA has been successful in getting cruelty charges laid for a case of cat abandonment, a growing problem in BC communities. The charges were based on the psychological and physical distress experienced by cats who are abandoned to fend for themselves. The case involves an incident in which a woman trapped a cat near her apartment complex and later released him in a field. Once the woman had trapped the cat, the animal became her responsibility, and it is against the law to abandon a pet.

The SPCA pursued charges under the Provincial Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act after being contacted by the cat's distraught owner. The Crown was initially reluctant to proceed with charges, but was persuaded after the BC SPCA presented evidence on the psychological and physical trauma that abandoned cats face from disease, stress, starvation, and attacks by other animals. "Any cat, domestic or wild, has difficulty coping when transferred to an unfamiliar area," says Eileen Drever, Manager of the Chilliwack branch of the BC SPCA. "This was a domestic cat dependant on his human guardian and released in an area far from his home." Since his abandonment, the cat, a neutered male with an ear tattoo, has not been found.

"Cat abandonment is a widespread problem with devastating effects on the welfare of the individual cats," states Nadine Gourkow, Animal Welfare Research Manager for the BC SPCA. Abandoned cats face the risk of injury and death from traffic accidents (more so than cats in a familiar environment), attacks by other cats, disease, starvation and dehydration. A cat can die of dehydration within 3-4 days. Abuse of homeless cats, who are considered pests, is also common. Even when a cat survives his or her ordeal of being abandoned and is returned home, the emotional distress associated with the experience can have lasting effects on the cat's heath."

This seems almost good news/bad news. Good that someone was charged with animal abandonment, but bad news if it is applied to T/N/R - trap/neuter/release. T/N/R is the only truly humane thing to do for feral cats, the alternative is to keep them imprisoned in cages and basements for the rest of their lives, in other words a life worse than death. AAS has seen plenty of that kind of cat "rescue" and seeing it has been part of our education into the psychology of hoarding.

Also - why has the SPCA picked on a woman who was not the cat's original abandoner? Yes, she should have done better by this cat, but every year there are thousands of cats left behind by people who move, and the neighbours have been willing, even eager, to give the name of the abandoner. The SPCA's actions indicate that someone making the decisions doesn't really know what they are doing. But Eileen Drever certainly knows what she is doing, so why did she chose this woman?

Perhaps the decision was made by Nadine Gourkow, the BC SPCA's cat expert,and - strangely - recently appointed the SPCA's dog expert too, which we think is too many responsibilities for one person to handle well.

Before we can understand this case, we need to know more. Anyone got any info?