I have been told by an employee at an SPCA how nice it would be to hear something positive once in a while about the work they do to save the animals in their care. It certainly gave me pause to think.
But in today’s edition of the Toronto Star, there appeared a story that the Ontario SPCA has started killing 350 animals at it’s shelter in Newmarket because of ringworm — a treatable fungal infection.
And again I am reminded of how readily shelters will kill their animals at the drop of a hat rather than apply some elbow grease and get the necessary work done. Yes, it requires some elbow grease and time because there is no magic pill for ringworm, but the response that all animals in the shelter will simply be killed rather than make this effort is just appalling.
It’s a response based on convenience rather than what is right. It is surely easier to kill all the animals in the facility, hose it down with bleach and wait for the next bunch of homeless animals to refill the facility. And certainly quicker. The lives of our homeless pets are just that easily dismissed.
Ringworm should NOT be a death sentence.
According to CTV, Durham SPCA officials released a statement Tuesday suggesting more rigorous cleaning procedures can eradicate ringworm.
“As a shelter that has had to deal with two major ringworm outbreaks in the last 10 years, we are fully aware of how difficult a condition it is to treat. Both of our outbreaks involved about 100 animals,” the statement said.
“It requires extra precautions to be taken on the part of the staff and volunteers working with those animals, like wearing gloves, long sleeves and booties.
“But it is not a life threatening disease, it is a fungus…In both of our outbreaks we never lost an animal.”
News reports tell us the killing has already begun.
Update: THE OSPCA IS NOW ASKING FOR QUALIFIED VOLUNTEERS to assist in treating the animals. Here is the info for volunteering:
Anne Buonaiuto, Executive Assistant to CEO
Phone: 905-898-7122 ext. 304 or abuonaiuto@ospca.on.ca
Please do not use this contact info to express outrage at the initial decision to kill the animals. Let’s keep it open for volunteers to get through. The animals need them!
Please share this with your friends.
Ciao, Holly
UPDATE: You may be able to help save animals.
The Ontario SPCA is asking qualified residents and local veterinarians who can treat ringworm to contact them with services you can offer to help save the remaining animals that were scheduled to be euthanized… [Read more]
Related articles by Zemanta
- Human error blamed for shelter’s ringworm ‘epidemic’ (ctv.ca)
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11 Comments to “Ringworm should not mean death”
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Tweets that mention Ringworm should not mean death « Let's Adopt! Canada | saving animals, inspiring people -- Topsy.com says:
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Being Stray and Natalia Peon, Holly Ellis. Holly Ellis said: Ringworm should not mean death. OSPCA wants to kill its animals ~~ http://ow.ly/1JU7f [...]
linore says:
please give the Medications for these babies .
There is No reason for them to be murdered !
Julie says:
I know this sickens me! I feel for the volunteers who work so closely with these animals.This should not be a death sentence at all, why not close the facility and quarantene the shelter for a couple of months? Other shelters have done this!! I feel like this is one major cull.!!
Kelly says:
Thank you Let's Adopt! for bringing this issue to everyone's attention. This is an organisation whose mandate is to be a "voice for the voiceless" and it's shocking that this is how they treat a fungus. I've written to Minister Carol Mitchell – minister.omafra@ontario.ca – Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. They oversee municipal pound inspections, so somebody had better bloody do their job there!
Jane Sorensen says:
I wish you would be more pragmatic about this. Ringworm is incredibly contagious, contagious to humans which becomes then a liability issue (when faced with an idiot, and idiots are around these days), expensive to treat, and with a number of 350 animals, versus and unknown number of staff and volunteers, a very difficult to manage problem on limited resources. These people are not the bad guys, and shame on you for trying to make them out to be. Even if they have qualified volunteers who can help (qualified would also include having a no or very few pets at home), they will not have enough for 350 animals.
Rather you should protest government-ordered livestock culls.
Holly says:
Yes, ringworm is contagious — to other animals and to people. And without taking the proper precautions, it might be considered a liability. But a decision based on liability over the lives of these animals is not a fair decision. It is a convenient decision, and where will it stop?
Ringworm has an incubation period where an animal may not show signs. Where do you draw the line on when that period began? If we can't, do we begin a mass slaughter of animals at other shelters. Perhaps we kill all animals adopted out in the past so many weeks, months — just to be safe? Then we kill any animals that they may have associated with? Some animals may be carriers but never show a symptom.
If an outbreak of ringworm was discovered at a school, would we kill all the students, teachers and staff to contain it?
Why do we have less respect for these animals? I suspect it is because they are voiceless; they are unable to ask that they be treated and allowed to live.
Limited resources? How about we treat an animal, then move it to a new clean shelter… maybe the THS? Limited volunteers? How about asking the public if they would like to volunteer (as is currently being done and people are responding).
I am not making anyone out to be other than what they are, but I DO think this was a bad decision based on convenience. Rather than accepting the responsibility of treating a fungal infection, the decision was made — and supported by provincial government — to kill at least 350 otherwise healthy animals. That is what is maddening.
Janette says:
It should never have got this bad in the first place. If you agree with their decision you are just part of the problem. As for livestock culls, no animal should be euthanized for the sake of convenience.
Jane Sorensen says:
And, by the way, I have adopted from this shelter before, and made supply donations, and they are clean, environmentally-enriched, long-term-care facility.
Janette says:
I live not too far from Newmarket, just north of there in Barrie in fact. What gauls me about this is that there are people in the community willing to pull these animals from this shelter and pay for their treatment themselves. The OSPCA refuses to release them to these people saying it will start an epidemic among humans. Quite frankly I truly feel that it was high time the policies of the OSPCA were reviewed to determine if they have kept up with the times and veterinary science.
The fact that this ringworm infection has become so widespread in this facility that such a solution is even being cinsidered begs the question "who is responsible for this debaucle?" Why was this infection not treated and prevented from spreading? If it does spread to humans as is the case with a few workers at this particular shelter are we going to euthanize them too?
The Complications of Ringworm on People says:
[...] To protect your family and pet from ringworm you need to be armed with knowledge. If you would like to know any more information about Ringworm People please visit http://www.ringwormscure.com. Other points of interest related to this article Different Cures To Quickly Kill Ringworm | ModernHealthyLiving.com | Ringworm should not mean death « Let's Adopt! Canada | saving … [...]
Yvonne Williams says:
Our group is trying to make changes in the laws of the OSPCA!!! We are holding a rally at Queens Park South on Saturday, July 10th at 11:00 a.m. til 2:00 p.m., with MPP Frank Klees in attendance to address the audience, other MPP's, bands, and a table with goods for sale with proceeds going to help shelters. This is a family friendly event, dogs are welcome too. There will be water pools to coold down our furry friends in the heat! If you want to see changes, and not have these things happen again, please show your support and attend!!! You can find all the information for our R.O.A.R. event under the fb group STOP THE SLAUGHTER OF OVER 350 ANIMALS AT THE NEWMARKET OSPCA! Hope to see you all there!! Yvonne Williams