TORONTO – The Ontario SPCA says it’s getting out of the animal cruelty enforcement business, opting instead to give animal-related expertise to other enforcement agencies.
The humane society gave the provincial government notice today that it won’t be signing another contract to enforce animal cruelty laws when the current one expires at the end of this month.
It believes the current system is not working.
The SPCA says enforcement accounts for about 20 per cent of its business and is “governed by a 100-year-old piece of legislation called the OSPCA Act.”
“We want to see a system in place that provides maximum protection for animals. Our expertise, working as a support service to enforcement agencies, will be a powerful combination in enforcement and we believe the right combination to best protect animals,” said Kate MacDonald, the chief executive officer of the OSPCA.
The plan is to shift enforcement officers into the animal expertise roles or to the animal rescue arm of the organization.