Case Snapshot
Case ID: 1243
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: cat, horse, cow
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Wednesday, Apr 9, 2003


Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Quirinus Van Dongen

After 70 years of farming, Quirinus van Dongen vows he'll fight to keep his animals. The father of B.C. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister John van Dongen denies assaulting a female SPCA officer after 108 farm animals were seized from his Abbotsford properties.

"When nobody is home, they load all my cows right out of the barn," he told The Province yesterday. "They haven't got a reason to seize them. I just about turned nuts. I went right after them."

Van Dongen said he was angry when he got to Langley SPCA and confronted a female officer Wednesday night.

"I screamed at the top of my voice and I was waving my arms," he said. "I went for her, but she was a whole lot faster than me, because I'm 81 next week. "They said I tried to assault her. I tried, but I didn't make it. I didn't even touch her."

Langley RCMP arrested him and say assault charges may come within 10 days.

A Langley SPCA official said van Dongen grabbed a female officer on the arm.

"She wasn't seriously hurt. She was pretty shaken up," said Lorie Chortyk.

SPCA officers seized 44 horses, 63 dairy cattle, and Kitty the cat over lack of shelter and access to clean water.

Van Dongen was told weeks ago he needed to put up a shelter for his horses, but didn't do it, said Chortyk.

She said the animals have been checked by vets and sent to private farms around the Fraser Valley.

Van Dongen could be charged with animal neglect, which carries a maximum $2,000 fine and six months in jail. The SPCA would then seek permanent custody of the animals, said Chortyk.

Van Dongen was convicted of animal cruelty in the 1980s, but said he loves his horses.

"I have kept horses for 70 years," he said. "In the summer, you don't need a shelter. The shelter is in the trees. Horses don't like a shelter. They like to be free."

John van Dongen said yesterday that the family has been concerned about his father's behaviour for some time.

He said his mother was recently placed in a long-term-care facility and his father had previous run-ins with the SPCA involving the treatment of his livestock.

"We knew there [were] general issues, as there has been in the past, with the SPCA," he said. "We as a family have been aware of that and we've had concerns about it."

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