By Charles Lefebvre

APARC suspending animal transfers with SPCA

Feb 6, 2019 | 2:40 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Alberta Pound and Rescue Centre has announced it is suspending inter-shelter transfers with the Medicine Hat SPCA.

The announcement was made by the Board of Directors in a statement posted on the organization’s website and Facebook page. The suspension will last “until a framework can be put in place to protect the interests of APARC,  Medicine Hat SPCA and the pet owners of Medicine Hat,” the statement reads.

The decision comes as the Medicine Hat SPCA faces allegations of a lack of transparency in the organization.

The full statement can be read below.

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 Feb 6, 2019

At APARC, we believe that every person in Medicine Hat should be able to trust animal welfare organizations with the care of their four-legged loved ones. We have gained the public’s trust through transparency in shelter outcomes, honesty in our practices, and through community engagement.

Over the last week, APARC has learned of information suggesting the leadership of a Medicine Hat based animal welfare organization does not value honesty and transparency in the same ways we do.

Our shelter has limited information on the animals that come into our facility. We do not know if they are owned, infected with contagious disease, or injured beneath the skin. Every last detail is vitally important and may assist us in providing the proper veterinary care to an injured animal or it could be the clue to finding their owners. Receiving purposefully incorrect information is extremely detrimental to facility operations.

Until this point, APARC has relied on trust when interacting with the Medicine Hat SPCA. We would accept strays that have been mistakenly dropped off at their facility. The local SPCA provided impound services to Medicine Hat for decades before APARC, it is completely expected and understandable that some lost and found animals would end up there by mistake.

The Board of Directors received a tip that triggered a full investigation of events that occured on January 13th, 2019. As a direct result of this investigation the Board has concluded that a facet of shelter operations must be modified. From this point forward, APARC is suspending animal transfers from Medicine Hat SPCA until a framework can be put in place that protects the interests of APARC, Medicine Hat SPCA, and the pet owners of Medicine Hat. The decision to suspend transfers does not come lightly, but it is necessary step in providing the best service to Medicine Hat we can.

Our commitment to transparency includes informing the public of any resolution of this matter. Once a framework is put in place we will continue inter-shelter transfers with the Medicine Hat SPCA. We ask that you talk to your friends and families about the services APARC provides so that the lost and found animals go to the correct facility and have a greater chance of being reclaimed.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors of APARC