Shelter? Sanctuary? Not by any standard definition … and Marion Nestle on Nutro
By Gina Spadafori
June 2, 2009
Horrific news out of Toronto this week, thanks to some great reporting by the Globe and Mail’s Kate Hammer. Her series this week on the Toronto Humane Society shows an organization that at the very least needs a new director and a complete overhaul:
An investigation by The Globe and Mail has found that the Toronto Humane Society is a shelter in crisis, a place where animals die suffering unnecessarily in their cages, according to veterinarians, significant amounts of money are spent on litigation, and the opinions of veterinary professionals are dismissed. According to insiders, its volunteer president, Tim Trow, has intimidated dozens of staff, volunteers and veterinarians into quitting out of protest. They vehemently disagree about the way he runs the shelter.
[...]
Many of the people interviewed for the series signed confidentiality agreements effective for two years after leaving the shelter, and agreed to interviews despite the possibility that they could be sued for speaking out.
The Globe reviewed dozens of medical charts of animals left to die in their cages as a result of the shelter’s much-too restrictive euthanasia policy, according to current and former staff and volunteers. The Globe also obtained pictures of cats and dogs living in their own excrement and interviewed more than 30 concerned current and former employees, volunteers, members and adoptive families – past and present – who have begged for help from the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Canada Revenue Agency. They have also tried to enlist the College of Veterinarians of Ontario and Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General, all to no avail.
They’ve discovered there is little anybody can do to rein in the THS, an independent organization virtually free from oversight, which is headquartered on River Street in Toronto’s east end.
And remember that Wisconsin “sanctuary” Phyllis wrote about? More than 270 of the animals have been surrendered to humane officials — which means they can continue to recover and eventually be re-homed. But get this: 10 animals were returned to as “owned animals.” Honestly, this person shouldn’t be owning a house-plant after this. Humane officials say the situation with the returned animals is being monitored.
Finally … check out Marion Nestle’s post on the Nutro situation. Dr. Nestle is the well-known professor of nutrition at NYU and the author of several books that are essential reading for anyone wanting to know just how screwed up the regulatory system is when it comes to food. She writes:
Let’s hope that the facts emerge soon. In the meantime, a few conclusions seem clear.
For pet owners: Don’t buy recalled Nutro products for your pets (the list is in the press releases from Nutro and the FDA). Insist that Nutro and every other pet food company give you information about what’s in the foods, how they know the amounts are correct, and what their test results show.
For pet food companies: Know your suppliers and test every every ingredient. If you want your customers to trust your products, release the test results on your websites.
For the FDA: Take pet foods seriously. I keep insisting that we only have one food supply, and it’s the same for animals, pets, and people. If the melamine recalls taught us anything, it is that if something is wrong with pet foods, people foods will be in trouble too (recall: melamine in Chinese infant formulas). And how about being more transparent about what you are doing? That too might help instill trust.
For the government: How about funding some research on the dietary needs of dogs and cats. The more we know about their nutrient needs, the more we will know about our own.
For everyone: Insist that the companies that make foods for people and pets tell you what is in their products, where the ingredients come from, whether they are testing, and what the results of those tests might be.
This is why pet food politics matter (and why I went to the trouble of writing a book about the melamine recalls).
Good advice for all.
The Ontario SPCA moved in to investigate (as they had to under the SPCA Act) allegations of cruelty. When I checked the news at 6 o’clock (it was on all the local stations), they’d been there for three hours. They have suspended THS’ affiliate status which removes THS from protections under the Ontario SPCA Act but also does not allow them to continue with cruelty investigations (which IMO only hurts the animals).
We’ll see how this shakes out. There are certainly plenty of disgruntled ex-employees and ex-volunteers, and I bet Nathan Winograd would say “No-kill, Ur doin it wrong”. On the other hand, THS does some very good work and has been doing so since 1886. This isn’t a sudden thing either; the politicking has been going on for years, but it seems to revolve around the society’s president and his iron grip on things. So look past the power politics to the real issues of animal suffering due to mismanagement. Good on Kate Hammer at the Globe for getting this quick attention.
Fred, at onebarkatatime has been following this one closely, so his blog is a good one to watch.
http://onebarkatatime.blogspot.com/
Comment by redstarcafe — June 2, 2009 @ 6:34 pm
There needs to be a clear demarcation between euthanasia and killing for convenience, overpopulation or behavior. Because we have allowed euthanasia, a beautiful thing we do to relieve suffering, with the indiscriminate killing often occurring in shelters, the two have been diluted and confused.
All writers and media personalities have to make the line between these two clear so things like this are not justifiable.
Comment by Nicole — June 2, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
As usual, another great summary by Marion Nestle, she definately gets it. Wish the PFC’s and FDA would.
Comment by Sandi K — June 3, 2009 @ 8:34 am
I am simply stunned that 10 dogs were returned to the “sanctuary” owner as pets. The court decided “there will be daily visits by a Richland County deputy and weekly visits by a veterinarian to monitor the conditions and health of the owned animals pending trial.” Eventually the concern will wear out, the visits will stop, and she’ll go back to her old ways once she feels she won’t get caught. Sometimes you just have to shake your head at the world.
Comment by Phyllis DeGioia — June 3, 2009 @ 8:55 am
Thanks for spreading the word on this issue.
I live in Toronto, and I adopted both my cats from the Toronto Humane Society. Until last year I was a member and I still send the odd cheque their way. But something has been odd the last few years - too much focus on corporate issues, to my thinking.
In addition to the regular requests for funds, communications have included a direct mail piece about a rebranding initiative & new logo and repeated lobbying against Ontario’s improved Animal Welfare Act because it endangered their name (despite it being a huge improvement in other, more important areas).
But I’m appalled to find the problem is so much worse. THS used to be a wonderful organization - how it could fall so far, so fast is truly sad.
The latest news is that the OSPCA investigation only resulted in 4 minor charges - no major concerns about cruelty. And THS is crowing about vindication. But my cynical side says they’ve had 3 days or more to rectify / hide the problem cases.
Comment by Lisa — June 3, 2009 @ 7:51 pm
I hope OSPCA provides us with more details soon. There were 4 cases, all cats, out of 1,100 animals that were somehow evaluated in 5 hours (do the math): two with recommended dental consult, two with recommended additional fluids. Since then, OSPCA has stated to the media that the four cases were “serious”. But certainly no recommendations for euthanasia.
Certainly in three days, a massive cleanup would have been possible.
Looking forward to OSPCA’s further findings and recommendations, although I suspect the scope is restricted to auditing against the SPCA Act.
For other litigation, like freezing THS funds and ousting the management and board, a separate organization has jumped on the bandwagon.
All for the sake of the animals, indubitably.
Comment by redstarcafe — June 4, 2009 @ 9:01 am
http://www.thestar.com/news/gt.....es-charges
Comment by The OTHER Pat — November 27, 2009 @ 4:41 pm
http://www.thestar.com/news/gt.....ne-society
Comment by The OTHER Pat — November 27, 2009 @ 4:42 pm
This could be a gift, notwithstanding any OSPCA theatrics. They recently rebranded their website as Toronto Humane Society and Hospital. I check the site frequently and don’t remember seeing it until yesterday. Hmm. Maybe it’s been there all along and I missed it? With the discovery of the mummified cat, maybe they should add “and Pet Sematary”.
Comment by redstarcafe — November 27, 2009 @ 6:49 pm