BY SIMON LITTLE GLOBAL NEWS
Posted July 2, 2019 6:26 pm, Updated July 4, 2019 8:53 am
The BC SPCA says it plans to recommend animal cruelty charges after seizing more than a dozen exotic cats from a breeder near Little Fort, B.C., that officials say were living in “horrific conditions. The agency alleges that the 10 adult serval cats and three kittens were being housed in dark, hot RV trailers with a lack of ventilation and water, and had been exposed to high levels of ammonia from urine.
BC SPCA
They were also found among litter boxes overflowing with feces, the SPCA said. Serval cats are wild African felines that the SPCA says need lots of space to run, along with a “highly enriched” environment, where they can express their hunting and playing instincts.“Breeders make a lot of money from selling these exotic animals. It’s unfortunate because these are animals that were meant to be in the wild. They weren’t meant to be in captivity. “They have very very particular needs and they were being kept in conditions that did not come close to meeting their physical or psychological needs.” The agency said it became aware of the cats after getting complaints about sick and injured cats for sale. The cats were removed with the help of the Conservation Officer Service, and are now being cared for in an undisclosed location. The agency said it became aware of the cats after getting complaints about sick and injured cats for sale. The cats were removed with the help of the Conservation Officer Service, and are now being cared for in an undisclosed location. Moriarty said the case highlights the problem of substandard breeders operating slick websites that allow them to traffic in animals while hiding the poor conditions they are kept in.
BC SPCA
“Like many breeders that we see whether it’s puppy mills or other breeders people can have a really lovely web site it can look you know lovely conditions everything but it has nothing to do with the actual living conditions of the animals on site,” said Chortyk. “So people never visit these properties so they don’t know the kinds of things that are actually happening in the places these animals are being bred.
”Owning serval cats is not illegal in B.C. under controlled alien species legislation, and the SPCA says as a result their breeding is unregulated. It says the cats will remain in the SPCA’s care pending the outcome of legal proceedings. If the owners are found guilty, it said the cats would be taken to a sanctuary where they can live with proper care. In addition to the serval cats, the SPCA said it also seized from the property two dogs and one domestic cat that were in distress.
* UPDATE Little Fort breeders won’t have serval cats returned to them
Oct 08, 2019
LITTLE FORT, B.C. — Two Little Fort residents who had more than a dozen serval cats seized from their property will not be getting their animals back.
Cricket and Kane before they were rescued.
The seizure and investigation stemmed from a complaint to the BC SPCA in May 2018. The complainant stated they had bought a serval cat from defendants but after taking the kitten to the veterinarian, the complainant was told the kitten had a broken pelvis, two broken legs, and an issue with the sternum that was “likely from over- breeding”.
“The veterinarian recommended euthanasia,” the decision stated. “The complainant stated that the Appellants took the kitten back offering to replace it with another kitten which the complainant declined.” A special provincial constable, along with an RCMP constable attended the defendants property in June and saw two large serval cats. According to the decision, Churchill initially denied there were servals on the property but when asked if the animals in the windows were servals, he said yes. He denied the special provincial constable’s request to inspect the animals.
The special provincial constable attended the next day and “issued a Notice to the Appellants to address the poor ventilation, high ammonia levels, lack of space and lack of exercise, and to require that they provide veterinary records.”
In August of 2018, defendant told the special constable that the two servals had been sold and they would no longer be breeding them. Defendant provided the constable with the owner’s contact information, but officials were not able to locate or contact the new owners. In April of this year, the special constable received records from Ontario and Kamloops veterinary clinics where servals had been brought in for exams.
“In addition to the records about the kitten that initiated the complaint, the records included a history going back to April 2015 indicating health issues or injuries to 5 serval kittens in the care of defendants,” the decision stated. In the months leading up to the June seizure, the special constable was in contact both in person and over the phone with defendants several times.
On July 4, defendants requested a review by BC SPCA chief prevention and enforcement officer Marcie Moriarty of the decision to seize their animals, disputing the grounds for seizure, and requesting the return of their 13 serval cats, two dogs, and domestic cat. At the end of July, Moriarty issued her review decision in which she stated it was appropriate to take the animals into custody.
“Ms. Moriarty noted that while the Appellants put forward a 9-point plan to accommodate the needs of the servals, their history with the Society demonstrates that they are unlikely to complete the work,” the decision stated. “With regards to the return of the dogs and domestic cat, Ms. Moriarty found that the Appellants’ submissions did not make any mention of the domestic cat, and only mentioned the dogs as an afterthought, saying that they would live in the shed on the property.”
The veterinary exams on the dogs and domestic cat found all three animals to be in relatively good health, but Moriarty noted the dogs demonstrated “significant fearful behavior.” Defendants filed their appeal with the BC Farm Industry Review Board on Aug. 1. The review board has denied the appeal, stating that the serval cats were in distress, that their removal was appropriate, and that it’s likely their living conditions would not improve.
