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100 healthy sled dogs killed
Whistler, BC (CA)Incident Date: Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Robert Fawcett
Upcoming Court Dates:
» Tuesday, Jun 19, 2012
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
The B.C. SPCA is conducting an investigation into the death of 100 sled dogs by a tour company in Whistler, British Columbia. The tour company, "Outdoor Adventures Whistler", has admitted to killing 100 sled dogs in April of 2010.
A downturn in business after the 2010 Olympic Games is cited as the reason for the cull.
CKNW Radio in Vancouver obtained Worksafe BC documents in which an employee had been compensated after developing post traumatic stress disorder for having to personally kill 70 dogs over a period of two days.
In the document filed with Worksafe BC, the worker said that in most cases, dogs were shot or had their throats slashed. They were then thrown into a 'mass grave'. The worker also stated that some dogs were still alive.
According to CKNW, the company didn't dispute the Worksafe BC claim. They even made a correction; the worker killed 100, not 70, dogs during that two day period.
Marcy Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the SPCA, found the document hard to read. "That description where he notes that one of the dogs he thought had been killed was crawling around in this mass grave.....honestly I had to put down the story then," she told CKNW.
The Worksafe BC document told of a dog who had survived being shot in the face: "its eye was hanging off, and it was still running around," she said.
"The fact that he did this in front of all the other dogs tethered there, I can't even imagine," she added.
Moriarty said she would have preferred a vet-supervised lethal injection as it would have been more humane. "It is technically legal to shoot an animal, as long as it dies instantly. That most certainly did not happen in this instance."
Adding, "It was an absolute massacre. Some of the descriptions were, yeah, just horrifying."
A spokeswoman for Worksafe BC said that the case is a specific one and can only be released by the claimant, reported the Toronto Star.
To complete its investigating, the SPCA will now have to dig up the mass grave.
In another report by CKNW they say that Whistler RCMP have opened a file into the case. Staff Sergeant Steve Leclair says that the investigation is primarily a SPCA investigation, but that the RCMP is assisting. He added that charges of cruelty to animals or injuring or endangering animals could "eventually" be laid.
"It's a matter of gathering all the facts and determining if there's enough evidence to prepare a report to Crown Counsel and if so to send that to Crown to see if it's meets their standard for charge approval," he said.
According to ctvbc.ca, the Vancouver Humane Society is now calling for a ban on sled-dog tours.
Spokesman for the Vancouver Humane Society said, "the details of how these dogs were killed are absolutely shocking. This is what happens when animals are exploited for profit and become surplus to requirements when business is bad," reported ctvbc.ca.
Outdoor Adventures has released a statement in response, said CKNW. Spokesman for the company, Graham Aldcroft, said that "the events are tragic and regrettable."
"While we were aware of the relocation and euthanization of dogs at "Howling Dog Tours" we were completely unaware of the details of the incident until we read them in the WCB document yesterday."
The cull took place under the operational control of "Howling Dogs", led by the worker who filed the post traumatic stress disorder claim with Worksafe BC. "Outdoor Adventures" took control of "Howling Dogs" in May.
Aldcroft insists that significant changes have been made to ensure humane treatment of dogs.
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Case UpdatesThe trial of the man accused of the mass slaughter of sled dogs near Whistler, B.C. will be moved for security concerns. Robert Fawcett, former general manager of Howling Dog Tours, is charged with animal cruelty and was initially to be tried in a Pemberton court.
Reports of threats against him, however, led to the trial being changed to a more secure court in North Vancouver.
Fawcett's next appearance is June 19.
The BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals exhumed the bodies of 56 dogs believed to be victims of a mass killing that happened after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Details of the slaughter were made public after Fawcett filed a Worker's Compensation claim, saying he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. | Source: Vancouver 24hrs
Update posted on May 24, 2012 - 8:19PM |
Forensic experts who worked on the cases of serial killer Robert Pickton and wrongfully convicted Steven Truscott are among the large team assembled to exhume the mass grave of about 100 sled dogs in a Whistler, B.C. animal cruelty investigation.
With the ground now thawed, preparations were being made to dig up remains of the animals that were slaughtered last April in the case that's brought ugly international attention to the ski resort town following the Winter Olympics.
The B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said on Sunday it had enlisted a team of forensic scientists, anthropologists and veterinarians and they were expected to begin digging on Thursday.
"This is one of the largest and most complex investigations the BC SPCA has ever undertaken," Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigation for the BC SPCA said in a statement, adding the excavation is expected to cost more than $225,000.
"Because of the length of time that has passed since the incident occurred, it is necessary to employ painstaking, state-of-the-art forensic techniques to gather the evidence needed to pursue animal cruelty charges in the case."
The dogs' deaths were revealed in January after the man who claimed he killed them sought workers' compensation for post-traumatic stress. Documents describe a bloody scene in which dogs were shot or had their throats slit over two days.
International public outcry ensued, leading to a provincial review that recommended what B.C. Premier Christy Clark called the toughest animal cruelty laws in the country. They include significantly tougher penalties for animal cruelty, mandatory standards for sled-dog operators and increased funding for the SPCA.
The worker has claimed he was ordered to cull the pack after a post-Olympic slump in sales.
Prior to Thursday's dig at the police-secured crime scene, the experts will clear and screen debris piled on top of the graves. They will then use lasers, probes, GPS and trench testing to determine its actual dimensions.
Excavation will involve removing the top two inches of soil before laying down a grid.
Moriarty said it will take three to four days for the teams to dig through each section of the grave by hand.
The remains will be photographed, and body parts will be moved to an on-site triage station for examination and x-rays. The bodies will then be refrigerated and transported for necropsies.
"This process will take time but we want to ensure that every relevant piece of evidence is presented to Crown," Moriarty said.
The forensic experts' past experience also includes identifying the Green River serial murder victims, the Kwaday Dan Ts'inchi research project, re-examination of the Little Bighorn battlefield and the Hinton train disaster. Their work has also taken them to mass graves in Guatemala, Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo, Sri Lanka, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We are extremely fortunate to be working with such an experienced team, many of whom have been involved in large-scale, high-profile forensic investigations involving both human and animal remains," Moriarty said.
All 26 members of the society's cruelty investigations department will also be involved at various stages.
The B.C. SPCA conducts nearly 7,000 cruelty investigations each year. | Source: thestar.com - May 1, 2011
Update posted on May 1, 2011 - 5:59PM |
The BC SPCA issued 65 orders against Howling Dog Tours in January 2006 regarding the health and welfare of its sled dogs.
But because the company made all the required changes, the SPCA was powerless to seize the animals and did not have the authority to shut down the business.
The business, which now falls under the parent company Outdoor Adventures Whistler, has been the focus of intense public criticism this week after news became public that 100 of its approximately 350 sled dogs were slaughtered following a downturn in business after the Olympics.
The cull came to light because of a successful WorkSafeBC claim for post-traumatic stress disorder by Robert Fawcett, the employee who killed the dogs over two days last April.
The orders the SPCA made in 2006 related to dogs being tethered for too long on chains and not getting enough exercise. Other orders were written after dogs were found to be emaciated, lacking dental care and when there were concerns about the dogs' housing and lack of socialization.
"We'd go and do an inspection and an order to fix something was always complied with so the dogs couldn't be taken into protection (of the SPCA)," said Marcie Moriarty, head of the SPCA's cruelty investigation division.
The SPCA was dealing with Fawcett at the time, who was the general manager and a director with Howling Dog Tours. He is now under investigation for animal cruelty.
While on leave for stress, but still living on site at the compound, Fawcett made his own complaint on July 12, 2010, about the "health and welfare" of the sled dogs.
However, the SPCA did not visit the site at that time, because it didn't have the staff and was overwhelmed with other calls, said Moriarty. The concerns were discussed over the phone with Joey Houssian, a director of Outdoor Adventures. The complaint was not substantiated and no orders were written.
Houssian did not return repeated calls for an interview, but Outdoor Adventures issued a joint statement Wednesday with Fawcett, who agreed to the following facts: That in mid-April, in a conversation with Houssian, the employee estimated 50 dogs would be euthanized; the dogs being put down were "too old" or "sick" or "not adoptable." The statement also said efforts had been made for the dogs to be adopted both before and after mid-April.
The cull happened on April 21 and April 23, 2010.
The statement said: "There were no instructions given to Mr. Fawcett as to the manner of euthanizing dogs on this occasion, and Mr. Fawcett was known to have very humanely euthanized dogs on previous occasions."
Meanwhile, Whistler RCMP are investigating what they say is an increasing number of death threats over the deaths. The threats are directed at employees of Outdoor Adventures �" at people who had absolutely no involvement in the deaths of the dogs, said police.
"I understand these allegations have touched a nerve in the community and across the country, and rightly so," said RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen. "We support the public's right to express their feelings of outrage and concern in a peaceful manner.
"But let's be clear on this: no one has the right to threaten to harm or kill someone they suspect could have been responsible or involved."
Police said charges of uttering threats would be laid at "the first opportunity" and carry a potential sentence of jail time.
The threats have been made in person, by phone and through social media, said police.
The Vancouver Sun did not initially identify Fawcett due to concern for his apparent fragile mental state, but he identified himself publicly on Wednesday when he released the statement with Outdoor Adventures.
The company also issued a news release this week stating Outdoor Adventures took operational control in May 2010 of Howling Dog Tours and, with professional consultation and new leadership, made significant changes to the business to ensure the humane treatment of the dogs and to improve safety protocols.
The company also released a veterinarian report by David Lee of Coast Mountain Veterinary Services, dated Dec. 1, 2010, which reads in part: "Overall, I am very pleased at the substantive improvements seen at the facility and have no concerns about the dogs' quality of life or for the care they are provided."
The report noted the proportion of dogs with medical conditions was of lower frequency than noticed on previous inspections and while most of the dogs were in excellent physical health "multiple individual concerns were identified," predominantly concerning fractured and/or abscessed teeth in the dogs.
Lee also noted most of the dogs had transitioned from individual tethers to group pen facilities.
Meanwhile, this week Tourism Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb announced they were suspending third-party bookings for all tours with Outdoor Adventures. At the same time, Outdoor Adventures announced it was voluntarily suspending its dogsled operations. | Source: calgaryherald.com - Feb 4, 2011
Update posted on Feb 4, 2011 - 10:57AM |
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