Ontario SPCA deploys staff to Kashechewan for emergency evacuation of dogs
Ontario SPCA
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
NEWMARKET, ON, (April 25, 2006) – Today the Ontario SPCA is initiating phase one of an emergency evacuation of approximately 120 dogs, 10 cats, a turtle and goldfish in Kashechewan that were left behind following the evacuation of the community’s residents due to rising floodwaters.
This morning investigations and animal care staff from Ontario SPCA Branches as well as the Cambridge & District Humane Society, Lincoln County Humane Society, and the North Bay & District Humane Society, and a veterinarian drove from the Ontario SPCA Provincial Office in Newmarket to Sudbury, and from there will fly two hours to Kashechewan aboard planes supplied by the Ministry of Natural Resources planes. “We are very appreciative of Minister David Ramsay’s assistance in securing the planes for this emergency rescue,” says Ontario SPCA Chief Inspector Mike Draper. “The planes are a critical component to this rescue as Kashechewan is a fly-in community with no road access.”
Once in Kashechewan they will face the task of rounding up and crating about 120 dogs, most of which roam free in the community. Fortunately, some of the Ontario SPCA staff being deployed are familiar with the community and the dogs, having completed a Spay North program in Kashechewan in February, through which the dogs were vaccinated and spayed and neutered.
The 12-member team is being led in Kashechewan by Ontario SPCA Senior Inspector Hugh Coghill, who has many years of experience in animal welfare, investigations, and emergency rescue in both Ontario and British Columbia. Additional team leaders at the Ontario SPCA Provincial Office are coordinating the boarding and care of the animals.
Once the animals are safely in the care of the team, they will be flown south to Sudbury and then placed in a number of boarding facilities in northern Ontario. Some of the dogs will also go to the North Bay & District Humane Society and the Timmins Humane Society.
“During this first phase of the emergency rescue effort our goal is to safely evacuate the animals out of the community, and then get them stabilized in boarding facilities and humane societies in northern Ontario,” says Draper. “Once this is completed we will make every attempt to reunite them with their owners. But we expect that many of the animals will be in these temporary placements for up to several months due to the temporary closure of the community.”
“This is a major animal rescue effort that requires a huge financial commitment, possibly exceeding $300,000. The federal government’s Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has committed to assisting with the cost of the rescue effort.”
“The rescue also requires a redirection of our staff resources,” says Draper. “With a dozen staff from across the province taken from their regular investigations and animal care responsibilities to fly to Kashechewan, as well as many other Branch, Affiliate and Provincial Office staff dedicated to this effort, there is certainly a ripple effect on our services across the province. It may be necessary for us to restrict services at our Sudbury Branch, or even close the facility for a day or so, as the Branch’s staff will be needed to assist with the care and placement of the dogs when they arrive from Kashechewan.”
The Ontario SPCA also came to the aid of the animals in the community last winter during the evacuation of about half of the community’s residents, due to a contaminated water crisis. At that time food and veterinary care was supplied to the dogs to help sustain them within the community until the residents returned. The need to remove the dogs from the community this time around is because all of the residents are being evacuated and are expected to be gone for an extended period of time.
To make a donation to the Ontario SPCA call Cathy at 1-888-ONT-SPCA (668-7722) extension 322.
To report suspected animal abuse call the Ontario SPCA at 1-888-ONT-SPCA (668-7722) extension 1, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), your local Ontario SPCA Branch, affiliated humane society or police.
For media enquiries, please contact: Christine Arnett, Director of Marketing & Communications, 1-888-668-7722, ext. 305, e-mail: carnett@ospca.on.ca.
A word about the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Ontario SPCA): The Ontario SPCA, with 27 Branches and 31 affiliated humane societies and SPCAs, is unique amongst animal welfare organizations in Ontario: the Ontario SPCA Act mandates the Society to enforce animal cruelty laws and provides Society investigators with police powers to do so. The Society is a registered charity, relying primarily on donations to fund animal protection, care and rehabilitation for all animals, government and industry advocacy and public education. The Ontario SPCA is a member of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) and is affiliated with the Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
p.Charitable Business Number 88969 1044 RR0002
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