Starting April 1, the Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will no longer be the ones to call in cases of animal neglect or abuse. The Ministry of Agriculture is currently working to find a suitable replacement.
“(The board) feels that as a charitable organization, the Saskatchewan SPCA is not the appropriate body for the enforcement of legislation,” said Frances Wach, the executive director of the Saskatchewan SPCA. She added that the board of the organization feels the SPCA can better serve the public through education and outreach. As of March 31, investigative services staff with the SPCA – which includes animal protection officers, investigation services manager, and an assistant – won’t be employed with the SPCA, though the SPCA and Ministry of Agriculture are recommending that the staff be involved with whatever organization will take over enforcement.
“They’re trained, they’re experienced, they’re already certified in the animal protection role,” said Karen Aulie, assistant deputy minister of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The SPCA board’s decision only affects the Saskatchewan SPCA. Other chapters have their own rules.
“Animal welfare is and always will be a priority for us,” said Constance Roussel, Saskatchewan SPCA Board of Directors President in a news release. “However, after much discussion, our board felt that we can better serve the animals and the public by focusing on education and prevention. We thank the ministry for working with us through this transition and look forward to continuing to work with them under our new focus.”
For about 40 years, the Saskatchewan SPCA was responsible for responding to complaints about an animal being neglected or abused. If there was a problem, the animal protection officer with the SPCA would work with the owner to resolve the situation, or in extreme cases, charges were laid and the animals were seized. The legislation regarding animal cruelty is laid out in The Animal Protection Act, 1999.
The Ministry of Agriculture is currently trying to find another organization to fill the enforcement role, but there is no conrete information in that regard yet.
“We’ll be looking at an organization that would be able to setup an infrastructure that would cover the province and would have the investigative skills and would be qualified by our legislation to be able to carry out the duties,” Aulie said. She added that the ministry is familiar with potential organizations and have been approached by some people.
The Saskatchewan SPCA, meanwhile, has offered to serve as consultants during this process. When the contract for enforcement ends in the spring, they will focus on programs such as humane education, education on animal and human victim of interpersonal violence, and crisis funding for livestock producers.
