Ten adults and 28 puppies were seized by BC SPCA animal protection officers from a property in the Kamloops-area due to unacceptable and filthy living conditions. Now the B.C. SPCA is returning dogs after they appealed the decision to remove them and made some improvements to the site.
Image Credit: BCSPCA
April 30, 2021 - 6:00 PM
B.C. SPCA is returning over three dozen dachshunds to a Kamloops-area dog breeder after they appealed the decision to remove them and made some improvements to the site.
The breeder, Rainbow Dream Dachshunds, made "minimal" improvements towards the concerns laid out by the SPCA, according to chief prevention and enforcement officer Marcie Moriarty.
"The immediate concerns were addressed, but the main thing is that two veterinarians came forward to vouch for this individual," Moriarty said.
Because of the two veterinarians who vouched for the breeder, Moriarty said the warrants for seizure would not stand up to the Farm Industry Review Board, where the appeal would take place.
Legislation in B.C. works to prevent animal cruelty and distress, and that is what the B.C. SPCA based their decision on to seize the dogs in early April. There is no specific set of regulation for dog breeders in the province.
When the dogs were seized, B.C. SPCA said the conditions where the dogs were kept were "filthy" and they found the dachshunds in cages with feces and urine. The 38 dogs were also "surrounded by injurious objects."
Moriarty said the breeder now meets the minimum requirements to provide a standard of care for the animals. However, she could not speak to the specific improvements that the breeder had made, nor the health and wellbeing of the dogs before and after being seized by B.C. SPCA.
She also said the lack of legislation in place to regulate dog breeders means there is a lack of transparency, and the B.C. SPCA as an advocacy group would like to see increased transparency and accountability in the industry.
Marisa Panter, the breeder, told iNFOnews.ca she is barred from speaking on the matter for two years.
But Moriarty disputed that claim and said there was nothing in the agreement between B.C. SPCA and Panter restricting the breeder from speaking publicly on the matter.
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