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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...arged-with-cruelty-to-animals/article1378385/
November 26, 2009
Toronto Humane Society officials arrested, charged with cruelty to animals
By Kate Hammer
Globe and Mail Update
Shelter's president, chief veterinarian and three others face criminal charges after Globe and Mail investigation uncovered widespread problems; board of directors also charged with provincial offence of cruelty to animals
Police have arrested the Toronto Humane Society's president, chief veterinarian and three other senior staff members and charged them with animal cruelty, six months after a Globe and Mail investigation [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/killing-them-with-kindness/article1160810] revealed widespread troubles at the shelter.
At the same time, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals executed a search warrant at the shelter's River Street facility late Thursday afternoon.
Humane Society president Tim Trow is facing Criminal Code charges of animal cruelty, conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals and obstruction of a peace officer. If convicted, Mr. Trow faces a maximum penalty of $2,000 and six months in jail for the animal cruelty charges, and two years in jail for the obstruction charges.
Head veterinarian Steve Sheridan, shelter manager Gary McCracken, manager Romeo Bernadino and shelter supervisor Andy Bechtel have also been arrested and face animal cruelty charges under the criminal code.
All of the above, as well as the Society's board of directors, are also being charged with five counts of animal cruelty, a provincial offence under the Ontario SPCA Act (as opposed to criminal charges).
"This is a difficult day for the Ontario SPCA and the Toronto Humane Society, but it is necessary to protect the lives of animals," OSPCA chief executive officer Kate MacDonald said in a statement.
"We realize that the THS is capable of providing an important public service, but it could not fulfill its responsibilities until this action was taken.
"Our first priority is the safety of the animals currently in the THS facility. Our team of veterinarians will assess their health and take appropriate actions. We believe the THS can become an important animal welfare facility again in the near future with effective and responsible management," Ms. MacDonald said.
Humane Society spokesman Ian McConachie said that OSPCA investigators and Toronto police officers had entered the shelter.
"I have no details about why they came, they said they had a warrant, the staff was assembled in the lobby and they asked me to leave," he said.
<img refid="354381" version="gm-e">
Christopher Avery, a Bay Street criminal lawyer representing the OSPCA, said Mr. Trow's own dog, Bandit, attacked a police officer during the arrest on Thursday. It was pepper sprayed.
He also outlined the poor conditions of a number of animals.
"[OSPCA] officer [Kevin] Strooband recalled one animal in particular. He came in and lifted a cat and its skin came off in his hands," Mr. Avery told reporters outside the THS building.
"We are in the process of going cage by cage, animal by animal throughout the facility and comparing those with veterinary records, and we're doing our utmost to determine whether or not further charges should be laid by the end of the weekend."
Asked about the charges of obstructing a peace officer, Mr. Avery alleged that the THS sought to interfere with an inspection earlier this year.
<img refid="47503" version="gm-c"> Globe Doc: Harley is a lucky dog His new owners spent more than $500 on tests and X-rays before their own vet confirmed that the Toronto Humane Society had given them a dog with a broken leg
"We received information that approximately two dozen animals were moved around the shelter and kept out of the eyesight of the SPCA because of the condition they were in. There's also a number of animals euthanized. In other words, the shelter management took active steps to ensure that Officer Strooband was not able to properly conduct his inspection," Mr. Avery said.
Mr. McConachie rebutted the allegations made by the attorney.
"I don't know what specific cat they're talking about," he said when asked about the cat whose skin had allegedly come off.
He said Bandit "approached the police officer" and "was pepper sprayed. That's my understanding."
He also alleged that "everything that happens with the THS and the OSPCA is political."
The Globe and Mail's investigation revealed that animals inside the shelter were suffering and dying unnecessarily in their cages rather than being euthanized. Internal documents and interviews with dozens of current and former staff members raised allegations that Mr. Trow and some shelter managers intimidated staff into keeping euthanasia numbers low, ignoring veterinary opinions and mismanaging charitable dollars.
<img refid="45589" version="gm-e">
The OSPCA launched its investigation following The Globe's series. So many employees and volunteers clamoured to talk to the OSPCA about the long-standing troubles at the shelter that the OSPCA hired a private investigator to help carry out the probe.
The OSPCA, which is funded by private donations, also called on the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, part of Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney-General, to appoint an interim supervisor to oversee the THS.
Documents leaked to The Globe in September show that the public guardian, which is charged with investigating complaints about charities, has known of the dysfunction at the THS for more than three years but has so far failed to act.
Since The Globe's stories were published, the THS has launched a number of lawsuits against former staff members and the OSPCA funded with money donated for animal care.
None of the charges against Mr. Trow or other senior staff at the shelter have been tested in court.
In interviews with The Globe and Mail, more than 20 current and former employees, volunteers, and visitors described Mr. Trow as a combative man with a sharp temper whose iron grip on the Toronto Humane Society has hurt the very animals he was supposed to protect.
They said the situation was made worse by the fact that Mr. Trow, a former provincial civil servant in his early sixties, controls virtually every aspect of the shelter's operations.
He is volunteer president of the society's board of directors and manages the shelter's day-to-day operations, a job typically held by a salaried professional in non-profit organizations.
Mr. Trow's first tenure as president, in 1982, lasted little more than year. It ended after five directors wrote to then-mayor Arthur Eggleton accusing society officers of "fiscal irresponsibility, improper conduct of society business," and implementing policies causing cruelty to animals, and asking for Mr. Trow's resignation. In 1983, the board agreed to an interim takeover by the city and Mr. Trow resigned.
Mr. Trow was elected president for the second time in 2001.
Following the Globe's investigation, the OSPCA suspended the THS's affiliate status and sent inspectors to the River Street facility. Insiders later told the Globe that they were instructed by management to hide some ailing cats from the OSPCA investigators.
Their animal cruelty investigation has continued for six months, during which the current board of directors passed a motion to renew their support for Mr. Trow, and Mr. Trow effectively re-elected himself as president by carrying more than 700 proxy votes signed over to him by members.
November 26, 2009
Toronto Humane Society officials arrested, charged with cruelty to animals
By Kate Hammer
Globe and Mail Update
Shelter's president, chief veterinarian and three others face criminal charges after Globe and Mail investigation uncovered widespread problems; board of directors also charged with provincial offence of cruelty to animals
Police have arrested the Toronto Humane Society's president, chief veterinarian and three other senior staff members and charged them with animal cruelty, six months after a Globe and Mail investigation [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/killing-them-with-kindness/article1160810] revealed widespread troubles at the shelter.
At the same time, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals executed a search warrant at the shelter's River Street facility late Thursday afternoon.
Humane Society president Tim Trow is facing Criminal Code charges of animal cruelty, conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals and obstruction of a peace officer. If convicted, Mr. Trow faces a maximum penalty of $2,000 and six months in jail for the animal cruelty charges, and two years in jail for the obstruction charges.
Head veterinarian Steve Sheridan, shelter manager Gary McCracken, manager Romeo Bernadino and shelter supervisor Andy Bechtel have also been arrested and face animal cruelty charges under the criminal code.
All of the above, as well as the Society's board of directors, are also being charged with five counts of animal cruelty, a provincial offence under the Ontario SPCA Act (as opposed to criminal charges).
"This is a difficult day for the Ontario SPCA and the Toronto Humane Society, but it is necessary to protect the lives of animals," OSPCA chief executive officer Kate MacDonald said in a statement.
"We realize that the THS is capable of providing an important public service, but it could not fulfill its responsibilities until this action was taken.
"Our first priority is the safety of the animals currently in the THS facility. Our team of veterinarians will assess their health and take appropriate actions. We believe the THS can become an important animal welfare facility again in the near future with effective and responsible management," Ms. MacDonald said.
Humane Society spokesman Ian McConachie said that OSPCA investigators and Toronto police officers had entered the shelter.
"I have no details about why they came, they said they had a warrant, the staff was assembled in the lobby and they asked me to leave," he said.
<img refid="354381" version="gm-e">
Christopher Avery, a Bay Street criminal lawyer representing the OSPCA, said Mr. Trow's own dog, Bandit, attacked a police officer during the arrest on Thursday. It was pepper sprayed.
He also outlined the poor conditions of a number of animals.
"[OSPCA] officer [Kevin] Strooband recalled one animal in particular. He came in and lifted a cat and its skin came off in his hands," Mr. Avery told reporters outside the THS building.
"We are in the process of going cage by cage, animal by animal throughout the facility and comparing those with veterinary records, and we're doing our utmost to determine whether or not further charges should be laid by the end of the weekend."
Asked about the charges of obstructing a peace officer, Mr. Avery alleged that the THS sought to interfere with an inspection earlier this year.
<img refid="47503" version="gm-c"> Globe Doc: Harley is a lucky dog His new owners spent more than $500 on tests and X-rays before their own vet confirmed that the Toronto Humane Society had given them a dog with a broken leg
"We received information that approximately two dozen animals were moved around the shelter and kept out of the eyesight of the SPCA because of the condition they were in. There's also a number of animals euthanized. In other words, the shelter management took active steps to ensure that Officer Strooband was not able to properly conduct his inspection," Mr. Avery said.
Mr. McConachie rebutted the allegations made by the attorney.
"I don't know what specific cat they're talking about," he said when asked about the cat whose skin had allegedly come off.
He said Bandit "approached the police officer" and "was pepper sprayed. That's my understanding."
He also alleged that "everything that happens with the THS and the OSPCA is political."
The Globe and Mail's investigation revealed that animals inside the shelter were suffering and dying unnecessarily in their cages rather than being euthanized. Internal documents and interviews with dozens of current and former staff members raised allegations that Mr. Trow and some shelter managers intimidated staff into keeping euthanasia numbers low, ignoring veterinary opinions and mismanaging charitable dollars.
<img refid="45589" version="gm-e">
The OSPCA launched its investigation following The Globe's series. So many employees and volunteers clamoured to talk to the OSPCA about the long-standing troubles at the shelter that the OSPCA hired a private investigator to help carry out the probe.
The OSPCA, which is funded by private donations, also called on the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, part of Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney-General, to appoint an interim supervisor to oversee the THS.
Documents leaked to The Globe in September show that the public guardian, which is charged with investigating complaints about charities, has known of the dysfunction at the THS for more than three years but has so far failed to act.
Since The Globe's stories were published, the THS has launched a number of lawsuits against former staff members and the OSPCA funded with money donated for animal care.
None of the charges against Mr. Trow or other senior staff at the shelter have been tested in court.
In interviews with The Globe and Mail, more than 20 current and former employees, volunteers, and visitors described Mr. Trow as a combative man with a sharp temper whose iron grip on the Toronto Humane Society has hurt the very animals he was supposed to protect.
They said the situation was made worse by the fact that Mr. Trow, a former provincial civil servant in his early sixties, controls virtually every aspect of the shelter's operations.
He is volunteer president of the society's board of directors and manages the shelter's day-to-day operations, a job typically held by a salaried professional in non-profit organizations.
Mr. Trow's first tenure as president, in 1982, lasted little more than year. It ended after five directors wrote to then-mayor Arthur Eggleton accusing society officers of "fiscal irresponsibility, improper conduct of society business," and implementing policies causing cruelty to animals, and asking for Mr. Trow's resignation. In 1983, the board agreed to an interim takeover by the city and Mr. Trow resigned.
Mr. Trow was elected president for the second time in 2001.
Following the Globe's investigation, the OSPCA suspended the THS's affiliate status and sent inspectors to the River Street facility. Insiders later told the Globe that they were instructed by management to hide some ailing cats from the OSPCA investigators.
Their animal cruelty investigation has continued for six months, during which the current board of directors passed a motion to renew their support for Mr. Trow, and Mr. Trow effectively re-elected himself as president by carrying more than 700 proxy votes signed over to him by members.
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