The Real Villian!

Irresponsible animal owners.........

Attacking the THS stinks of a witchhunt

By PETER WORTHINGTON

Cruelty, conspiracy and obstruction charges against five senior people at the Toronto Humane Society, with possible charges against the 14-member board of directors, has a feeling of vendetta, if not a lynch mob.

Of course, none of us yet know details, but what is known is the Ontario SPCA, even when it was called the Ontario Humane Society, has a long record of hostility towards the THS.

Marching key officials out in handcuffs -- president Tim Trow, general manger Gary McCracken, chief veterinarian Steve Sheridan, shelter supervisor Andy Bechtel and manager Romeo Bernadino -- seems a bit much, even unnecessary.

All this done under the OSPCA Act, which some think gives excessive police powers to the OSPCA which, curiously, doesn't allow its membership a vote in choosing directors, and has few constraints.

Ironically, the charges come just after the THS publicly urged the minister of municipal affairs and housing to review the municipal act so as to improve the way animal control and shelter services are run.

Under the Freedom of Information Act the THS compared its 7% euthanasia rate to the average 51% euthanasia rate across the province, which it found "shocking and disturbing".

The THS says 75% of the 7,645 cats and dogs admitted last year were adopted out.

The OSPCA charges against Trow and the others are that they kept animals alive in cages without water and food that were too sick to recover, and should have been mercifully put down.

Trow as well as senior communicator Ian McConachie both are adamant that euthanasia is a decision the vet makes, not management.

No question that there are philosophical differences in how the THS and OSPCA regard their respective mandates. Up until now, Steve Sheridan has had a stellar reputation as a veterinarian, with some 40 years of treating animals.

Usually, veterinarians do not question one another, but the OSPCA has departed from this format.

WON'T KILL ANIMALS

One of the areas of dispute with Trow's THS leadership is his reluctance to kill animals -- witness his refusal to kill Bandit, the pit bull that attacked a child and the court ordered put down in 2003.

Instead, Trow kept it in his office. Bandit is likely now headed for the chop.

Trow is a controversial person. That he loves animals and is reluctant to kill them is indisputable, as is his leadership style which can be awkward and contentious.

Personally, I sometimes feel more committed to animals than to people, but I had difficulty when Trow once said he was interested in a scheme of birth control for rabbits. He was even reluctant to kill mice at the THS building, preferring to trap them for release elsewhere.

Trow might well keep animals alive longer than I would, but "cruelty" is not an apt description -- and certainly not for Dr. Sheridan or others charged.

On the positive side, under Trow's leadership the THS introduced a grassy fenced area for dogs to romp, plus a volunteer program to take dogs out for walks, plus a foster care program, and a kitten nursery, and a raccoon motel.

By keeping open around the clock, every day of the year, the THS serves the community more conscientiously than, say, the Toronto Animal Services (which replaced the THS as a pound) which often has no dogs or cats available for adoption, but euthanizes 45% of those it admits.

The THS story is not over yet, but the acrimony unleashed indicates that both the THS and OSPCA need an independent assessment -- even forensic audit -- if, indeed, needy animals are going to be served the way they deserve.