Town rejects SPCA's proposal for mediation in animal shelter dispute
Organization begins to remove its property from facility
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, August 29, 2016
HAY RIVER
The Town of Hay River has rejected a proposal for mediation in a dispute which will see it take over operation of the animal shelter from the SPCA.
In an Aug. 17 e-mail responding to the SPCA's proposal on Aug. 15, Mayor Brad Mapes said the idea had been reviewed and discussed by himself and council.
Mapes said he and council were still accepting the SPCA's decision to not run the animal shelter as of Aug. 30, as expressed in a July 20 letter.
"In the letter you gave notice to the town that your organization would be severing its ties with the Town of Hay River," Mapes wrote to Hay River SPCA president Heather Foubert. "Council accepted that decision with the date given and began taking steps for the town to assume responsibility of the animal shelter."
The mayor wrote that the decision to reject mediation is not one that council takes lightly.
Attempts by News/North to contact Mapes late last week for further comment were unsuccessful.
In the letter proposing mediation, Foubert proposed that the two sides discuss the possibility of the animal shelter remaining under the SPCA.
"Since it is obvious that we have differences, that our two sides could not resolve on our own, we have enlisted the services of Stephanie McDonald of Animal Welfare Consulting to act as a mediator," Foubert wrote. "This will ensure the best possible outcome for both sides."
The SPCA president also suggested that the original timeline for the proposed handover be delayed by at least a month or however long it would take to finalize an agreement.
Foubert was not surprised by council's rejection of mediation.
"In all reality, I was expecting a refusal to sit down and work things out," she stated in an e-mail. "It would have been a surprise if they had backtracked on their decision no matter what the circumstances. However, I had to put all of my hopes into this one last effort and it still came as a disappointment to see it flatly dismissed without even trying."
Foubert stated the proposed mediator is very knowledgeable about the most effective way to run a shelter and has worked to foster good relationships between SPCAs and other organizations.
With the failure to get the town to agree to mediation, the SPCA began removing its property from the animal shelter on Aug. 20.
"The only building that belongs to the town is the main one where the dogs have their inside kennels," Foubert stated. "The other building that houses the cats and a large amount of storage, plus the outside shed, belongs to the SPCA. We will have to remove them from the premises. Also a large portion of perimeter fencing and the inside kennel fencing was installed by the SPCA as well, so that has to go as well."
Foubert stated she is concerned about the treatment that animals will receive once the town assumes control of the shelter.
"I do not think they will put the time and effort into finding the kind of people needed for the compassionate and nurturing care that these animals require," she said."I don't think they will go to the extent that we do to ensure that they are adopted out to the best family for each animal and I don't think they will take the time to decide when an animal needs to be transferred to another shelter in order to find a home."
The SPCA has operated the town-owned animal shelter since 2009.
Under the arrangement, the town provides the group with $48,000 annually to run the shelter, and also assists with about an extra $40,000 worth of utilities and services from town employees.
The SPCA has two employees at the shelter - a manager and a weekend worker.
Foubert has said that the SPCA's offer to turn the animal shelter back to the town was serious, but it was done in the hope that in might jolt the town into solving the issues between the two sides.
Those issues include what the SPCA sees as the town's slowness and disinclination to seize animals being neglected or in need of medical care, the town favouring education over prosecution and weak bylaws on animal welfare.
On the town's side, it objected to what it called unprofessional behaviour by the SPCA, including a propensity to take shots at the town instead of trying to build a relationship.
