Thank you very much for taking the time to read the reasoning behind this petition, as well as signing and sharing it. The animals (and their human guardians) appreciate your support.

 

For those of you who are not yet aware of this, dogs and cats found and/or impounded by the Town of Quispamsis in New Brunswick, Canada, are currently taken to Moncton's shelter rather than Saint John's.

 

Why is this an issue?

 

1) Moncton is a kill shelter while Saint John is not.

 

For example, Moncton has a strict no-adoption policy of animals who have bitten, regardless of the surrounding circumstances. It does not matter if the dogs were harassed, attacked and/or defending themselves. If they have bitten, they are put down.

 

Saint John, on the the other hand, consults with professional, accredited trainers and the court system to determine the safest and most appropriate course of action when a dog has been proven to have bitten.

 

The management of the Saint John shelter understands there are often extenuating circumstances surrounding dog bites and doesn't immediately condemn the animal to death for something that may not have been their fault.

 

2) Moncton is approximately 135km away from Quispamsis while Saint John is nearby at 20+km.

 

If Quispamsis is trying to find ways to tighten its budgetary belt, then why choose to transport animals to a shelter nearly 115km farther away than the nearest shelter?

 

Sending animals to Moncton is clearly more expensive than sending them to Saint John. Surely, using the SJ SPCA AR for the town's animal control is a much more sound decision economically.

 

3) The reasons the town has given for choosing Moncton don't make sense.

 

Representatives for the town claim the main reasons they went with Moncton over Saint John is because of cats and the shelter itself.

 

Why cats? Because, according to one town representative, the SJ SPCA AR doesn't take cats.

 

Except that they do. They do it for both of their Rothesay and Saint John animal control contracts, so why the Town of Quispamsis is saying the SJ SPCA AR wouldn't include cats in the Quispamsis animal control contract is a mystery.

 

And what's so wrong with the SJ SPCA AR shelter? Nothing. At least not any more.

 

Granted, years ago the shelter was wanting. The building was in near tear-down condition and there were problems with its management.

 

However, that is no longer the case and if the Quispamsis town council did their due diligence, they would know that.

 

The SJ SPCA AR is a new and improved organization, proven by the way they advocate and protect our animals. They have a brand new facility and are under new management and it shows!

 

4) The SJ SPCA AR has had the support of the people of Quispamsis for years.

 

We adopt from their shelter. We attend their events. We donate money and time to their cause. It's time we stand up and demand that our politicians, for whom we voted, finally do the same.

 

HOWEVER, that's just the animal control contract. We also need to band together to have the town's heavy-handed and archaic animal control bylaw amended.

 

At this point the town has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to dog bites, evidenced by the disproportionate number of dogs euthanized in Quispamsis compared to other communities of a similar size.

 

Did you know that in Quispamsis animals can be euthanized simply for running at large (Animal Control Bylaw #031, section 11a-i, pg. 14)? Or that animals can be impounded for making noises others may find "annoying or disturbing" (Animal Control Bylaw #031, section 10b-vi, pg. 11)?

 

Then there are the individuals charged with determining whether or not an animal should be euthanized.

 

Rather than consulting with professional trainers, animal behaviourists and/or the courts, Quispamsis relies on its animal control officer, its Town Administrator and its Director of Engineering and Works to decide whether an animal lives or dies (Animal Control Bylaw #031, section 11a, pg. 14), none of whom - to my knowledge - are experts in the field of animal behaviour.

 

These two points are just the tip of the iceberg. Quispamsis' Animal Control Bylaw #031 can be read online, without the amendments (as of 07/31/15).