City of Surrey announces end of SPCA kenneling contract
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(BC SPCA) received an email from the City of Surrey on March 13
announcing that the city’s kenneling contract will be given to the BC
Corps of Commissionaires, effective April 30, 2012. The change means
that the BC SPCA will have to vacate the city-owned shelter by that
date.
“We put in the most competitive bid we could without
compromising the welfare of the stray and injured animals received by
the shelter,” said Craig Daniell, chief executive officer for the BC
SPCA. “It appears that the city’s decision was based on cost but, given
our experience carrying out animal control contracts across the
province, we knew we could not lower the bid without adversely affecting
animal care.” SPCA animals currently being cared for at the Surrey
shelter will be redistributed to other SPCA branches by April 30.
Daniell
notes that because the SPCA strongly suspected that the city would be
moving in a different direction with the contract, the non-profit
society purchased a 5.5-acre parcel of land in south Surrey last year
for a new community animal centre. “We are very proud of the long
service we have provided to the city and it is extremely important to us
that we continue to have a strong presence in Surrey for our core
mission work of animal cruelty investigations, animal welfare education,
advocacy and adoptions. We were prepared to work out of both locations,
but as it stands we will now be focusing all of our attention and
efforts on our new animal community centre.
Located at 16748 50th Avenue between Highway 10 and 32nd Avenue, the
site will be renovated to serve as an Education and Adoption Centre with
a range of services for abused and neglected animals as well as
programs for pet guardians and youth in the city. The first phase of the
new SPCA centre is expected to open this summer, with additional
services added throughout 2012.
“Having this link between rural
and urban allows us to create a unique setting where the community can
come to learn about domestic and farm animals and to join with us in
making Surrey a leader in animal welfare.”
The BC SPCA is a non-profit organization funded primarily by public
donations. Our mission is to prevent cruelty and to promote the welfare
of animals through a wide range of services, including cruelty
investigations, emergency rescue and treatment, sheltering and adoption
of homeless and abused animals, humane education, advocacy, farm animal
welfare, spay/neuter programs, and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.
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