Hoarding - 49 cats seized
Delta, BC (CA)Incident Date: Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Penny March
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
The B.C. SPCA removed 49 "very sick cats" from the Forgotten Felines cat shelter in Delta on Wednesday.
"It was horrific" said Lorie Chortyk, spokesperson for the animal protection agency.
Some of the cats were emaciated and dehydrated, she said.
"There were (also) three dead cats. One was decomposing."
SPCA officers and Delta Police arrived at the farm in the 9000 block of Ladner Trunk Road Wednesday afternoon.
Chortyk said the SPCA acted after Penny March, the head of Forgotten Felines, ignored several orders to improve living conditions for the cats.
"We think she's well-intentioned but you can't (neglect animals) no matter how well-intentioned."
March did not immediately respond to The Leader's requests for comment Thursday.
John van Dongen, the owner of the farm where the cat shelter is a tenant, said the SPCA failed to provide him with the required 24 hours notice (van Dongen is the uncle of the provincial Solicitor General of the same name, who is not involved in the operation of the Delta farm).
He said there was no need for the police presence at the shelter – about five vehicles by his count when he learned about the raid and drove to the farm.
"This is ridiculous," van Dongen said. "This is a waste of taxpayers' money."
Van Dongen has a history of run-ins with the SPCA himself, including a court battle over the agency's seizure of several horses from his farm,
Van Dongen won that case.
Forgotten Felines bills itself as Metro Vancouver's largest, "100 per cent donor-funded, true 'no-kill' cat shelter dedicated to the care and protection of hundreds of abandoned and forgotten cats and kittens found on the streets."
Case UpdatesThe woman at the centre of the SPCA's investigation last year into an East Delta cat shelter was charged this week with animal cruelty.
Last October, B.C. SPCA officers and veterinarians went to the Forgotten Felines shelter on Ladner Trunk Road, which is run by Penny March, after receiving complaints there were sick, dead and decomposing cats on the property.
In total, SPCA officers seized 51 cats that needed immediate medical intervention -- five died within hours but 36 responded to treatment and have since been adopted out to new homes. The other cats were given a poor prognosis despite receiving ongoing treatment and were euthanized on the advice of a veterinarian.
March has now been charged with one count of animal cruelty under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
"When we attended the scene we found an appalling situation," said Eileen Drever, senior animal protection officer for the B.C. SPCA. "The cats were suffering from life-threatening neglect and many were in critical distress."
Drever said the officers found emaciated, dehydrated and extremely sick cats throughout the property, as well as the bodies of two dead cats.
"The veterinary report, which outlines the medical condition of each animal examined during the investigation, contains some of the most damning and disturbing evidence of animal neglect the SPCA has ever witnessed," Drever said.
"The SPCA applauds any rescue group that takes in animals in need, and we understand that there will be sympathy toward Forgotten Felines. But it is never acceptable, either morally or under the law, for anyone to promote themselves as a charity and then to cause such horrendous suffering by withholding food, proper shelter and veterinary care. These animals were suffering and dying from starvation, dehydration, infection and illness. There is no excuse for that."
Drever noted the B.C. SPCA tried numerous times to work with Forgotten Felines.
"The SPCA's approach is always to try and remedy a situation first through education and support and we have provided regular assistance to Forgotten Felines with the agreement that they only take in the number of animals they can properly care for," she said.
"Again and again, they have violated their promises and we had no choice but to forward the disturbing evidence in this case to Crown counsel."
so that animals would not continue to suffer." | Source: Delta Optimist - March 28, 2009
Update posted on Mar 29, 2009 - 4:48AM |
In its Nov. 6, 2008 edition, the Province ran a front-page story entitled "Fur flies over seized cats." The story contained a number of inaccuracies and damaging statements that need to be clarified.
The BC SPCA, which is mandated by law to respond to complaints of animal neglect and cruelty, rescued the 51 cats from Forgotten Felines in September after receiving numerous first-hand reports of decomposing dead cats, emaciated cats and cats in distress on the property. SPCA animal protection officers visited the property and, at the recommendation of the accompanying veterinarian, removed numerous cats suffering from life-threatening neglect, many of whom were in critical distress.
The officers also found the bodies of two dead cats that had been left to decompose.
The animals were rushed to a veterinary clinic, and despite round-the-clock intervention and care, five of the kittens and cats have since died due to the critical nature of their illnesses.
The vet report, which contains some of the most damning and disturbing evidence of animal neglect ever witnessed by the BC SPCA, is a matter of record, not "opinion" as the Province story suggests.
To read a copy of the vet report, which outlines the condition of each of the animals rescued, click here (PDF, 3.8 MB).
The remaining 44 cats continue to receive extensive veterinary care paid entirely by donors to the SPCA. At no time has the BC SPCA ever demanded payment from Forgotten Felines for thousands of dollars incurred in caring for the cats in exchange for their return, contrary to the Province report of a "$20,000 fine." Penny March and representatives of Forgotten Felines are fully aware of this, just as they are aware that the SPCA is already working with local cat groups and other potential adopters to find homes for the HIV-infected special-needs cats. It is also untrue that Forgotten Felines was ordered to "forfeit" the cats. The animals remain in the SPCA's care because Forgotten Felines did not appeal the decision that it was not in the cats' best interest to return them and so it falls to the BC SPCA to continue paying veterinary and other care costs and to find new homes for the cats.
The BC SPCA has bent over backward to work cooperatively with Forgotten Felines, despite ongoing complaints over the years from volunteers and visitors about neglect and cruelty at that facility. The SPCA's approach is always to try and remedy a situation first through education and support and we have provided regular assistance to Forgotten Felines with the agreement that they only take in the number of animals they can properly care for. Again and again, they have violated this promise.
While it is understandable to feel sympathy for someone who tries to help animals, the harsh reality is that it is never acceptable, either morally or under the law, to neglect animals by withholding food, water and life-saving medical care to the point that the animals suffer and die from emaciation, dehydration, infection and illness. The BC SPCA was created in 1895 to protect animals from such atrocities and it is why we exist today. | Source: BCSPCA - Nov 6, 2008
Update posted on Nov 6, 2008 - 10:58PM |
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