Saturday, March 5, 2011

When keeping pets turns from caring to cruelty

After a 40-year stint with the RCMP, Neil Fraser had seen a lot in his career. But as chief inspector for the Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SPCA), nothing prepared him for animal hoarders.

"I didn't realize the number of people that have 20, 30, 50 cats in their residence," Fraser says.

Fraser is one of a number of SPCA inspectors who say they've seen the number of hoarding cases climb dramatically in recent years. In Halifax alone the SPCA say it gets about two calls a week about animal hoarders.

Kristin Williams is Executive Director of the Nova Scotia SPCA. She says her organization can't even keep up with the calls.

"This is not an issue that is restricted by social or economic or political stripes … It is everywhere and it is getting worse," she says.

Three years ago, inspectors with the Nova Scotia SPCA say they encountered one of the worst cases of animal neglect ever witnessed in the province...." More & video

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