Ontario SPCA delays Hanover branch office closure, local federation goes ahead with alternative plan

Sunday, March 3, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

The Bruce County Federation of Agriculture is continuing to facilitate a plan in its county for animal welfare services even though the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has postponed its office closure in Hanover.

The society initially said last month it was closing the rented office used by its two agents assigned to the Grey and Bruce county areas. The closure of the OSPCA branch office, which doesn’t contain an animal shelter, was to be effective March 1 but has now been postponed until June 1.

Semi-retired Bruce County cow-calf farmer Carl Noble says the OSPCA’s closure announcement and subsequent postponement is a ploy “to try and get money out of the municipalities in Grey and Bruce counties.”

Noble says “I honestly think they (OSPCA) are really hurting for money and this is a ploy with the municipalities.” Noble, a former OSPCA board member, resigned in 2007, along with other members, because of what he calls the society’s heavy-handed approach.

Noble, who sat on Bruce County council for six years as the mayor of South Bruce Peninsula, says he plans to write letters to Bruce and Grey municipalities because “I know enough about the OSPCA to at least give them some facts and figures.”

OSPCA agent Brad Dewar, investigations and communications officer, based in Newmarket, says the closure was postponed because of an overwhelming response from the community. “It has opened communications to discussing how they (the OSPCA) will be able to provide a service in conjunction with each municipality.”

The society postponed the office closure to “allow for those discussions to continue and also provide the service for the animals during this time,” he says.

In its March 1 press release, the OSPCA notes it received a formal request on Feb. 22 from the mayor and council of Arran-Elderslie “to allow for more discussion.”

Bruce federation president John Gillespie says the society didn’t tell the federation about the postponement.

Bruce federation vice-president Pat Jilesen says he’s glad they have three months to prepare for the OSPCA leaving. “We were in talks with the local authorities in getting a plan in place to oversee animal welfare in Bruce County. We’re very pleased with the direction we were going and the amount of services we have already in place to look after animal welfare here.”

“There’s other ways to deal with animal welfare.”

Asked what happens if the OSPCA doesn’t leave, Jilesen says, “I’m just going to assume they are. Why would they sit there, doing that to us? Why would they do that to the people that donate to that charity?”

The OSPCA has been talking to Grey/Bruce municipalities about a fee-for-service arrangement. From now until June 1, Dewar says the OSPCA officers who work out of the Hanover office will continue working in the Grey/Bruce area. The municipalities and OSPCA will be meeting and talking to “see where they might be able to continue the service permanently.”

The operation of the Hanover office is currently funded by the OSPCA. Dewar says he still can’t provide a figure for how much it costs to run annually. “It would be hard to say because every year would be different depending on the number of animals the officers for that area actually have to bring in.”

The animals brought in from Grey and Bruce are cared for at an OSPCA location with a shelter. The Grey/Bruce branch has to cover the costs of those animals’ care, Dewar says.

During an earlier interview, Dewar said the OSPCA has had a presence in Grey/Bruce since 2002. He also said the society’s donations are down and due to budget limitations they decided to close the office in Hanover.

June 1 is the current deadline for the Hanover office’s closure but if there were a request for an extension, the society’s decision to postpone the closure again would be dependent on the reasons for the request, he says.

Grey Federation of Agriculture president Wayne Balon and Paul Wettlaufer, the local Ontario Federation of Agriculture director, couldn’t be reached for comment. BF

Update 5 March 2013

Grey County Federation of Agriculture president Wayne Balon says Jennifer Bluhm of the Hanover office of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Animals gave a presentation at the local federation’s monthly board meeting on Feb. 28. But nothing was said at the meeting about postponing the Hanover office closure to June 1 from March 1, he says.

The Grey federation is taking a wait and see approach for now. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture “head office is looking into this too. We’re waiting to see what head office comes back with,” he says, noting they’re also keeping an eye on the Bruce Federation of Agriculture’s plans to facilitate establishing animal welfare plans for their area.

Balon says “I don’t know at this point in time what is the motivation behind their (the OSPCA’s) actions and now there’s going to be a lot more talks going on to find out what’s going to happen.”

He notes the Grey federation will again discuss the OSPCA’s plans at its executive meeting in two weeks. “This is a pretty hot topic everywhere.” BF