OSPCA shelter located on Park Ave. in Chatham. (BlackburnNews.com File Photo)OSPCA shelter located on Park Ave. in Chatham. (BlackburnNews.com File Photo)
London

OSPCA Defends Application To Euthanize Dogs

Despite ongoing criticism, the Ontario SPCA is defending an application to euthanize 21 pit bulls that were seized as part of an alleged Tilbury dog fighting ring.

The application to have the animals put down was filed back in January, and OSPCA Inspector Brad Dewar says the decision was made based on behavioural assessments that were completed by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Several lawyers representing animal rights groups intend to intervene in the case, with the hearing expected to be held at the Chatham courthouse. A date for the application hearing will be set on March 10.

"When it comes to an application to request humane euthanasia, that decision doesn't come lightly -- that decision is a difficult one to make," says Dewar. "We are here for the health and welfare of animals, but we also have a duty to ensure the community is safe."

Celebrity and dog-lover Don Cherry has also voiced this frustration with the OSPCA over Twitter.

"Let me get this straight. The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) says they rescued 21 dogs from an alleged dog fighting ring and now they are going to kill them," Cherry says in a number of Twitter posts. "Am I missing something here? In fact, they are paying lawyers to go to court to kill them even though it has been proven that these dogs can be rehabilitated."

Dewar says, in this case, rehabilitation would not help the dogs that are part of the application.

"Due to the assessments that were done, there is a reason why this application has been made, and the evidence of that will be heard in court," says Dewar, who was unable to elaborate on the details of the behavioural assessments.

Dewar says the OSPCA has also received a few calls and emails from concerned community members. He says there are a number of misconceptions surrounding the dogs' breed.

"Yes, [pit bulls] are prohibited in the province of Ontario, and they were seized as such, but the application is not in regards to the breed. It's based on the behavioural assessments that were done on the dogs," he says.

Dewar says the Ontario SPCA will take every opportunity possible to try to relocate pit bulls outside of Ontario. However, he says relocation is not an option because the 21 dogs included in the application are not property of the OSPCA.

Chatham-Kent police seized 31 dogs in October 2015 as part of the alleged dog fighting ring in Tilbury. Three of the dogs have already been put down due to medical reasons.

Three people currently face more than 270 charges in connection with the alleged dog fighting ring.

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