What’s up in Montreal?
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1994:
MONTREAL––The Canadian
SPCA recently endured yet another of
many recent changes of management, as
a young dissident faction led by longtime
critic Alex Wolfe won control of the
board and moved it toward the distant
goal of becoming a no-kill––against bitter
union and veterinary opposition.
“Until now,” former board
member Anne Streeter wrote recently in
the Montreal Gazette, “the CSPCA has
been notoriously trigger-happy, putting
down close to 50,000 animals a year.
Now the CSPCA is accused of keeping
too many marginally healthy animals
alive. Critics say the place is overcrowd-
ed, dirty, underfunded and short-staffed.”
However, Streeter told ANI-
MAL PEOPLE, “At least the people
running the place now really care about
the animals. I think the problems are due
to inexperience, where there used to be a
lot of indifference.” While on the board,
Streeter urged the CSPCA to become
more proactive in litter prevention.
Montreal currently euthanizes more ani-
mals per capita than any other city in
North America. Reportedly $1.1 million
in debt after nearly 15 years of internal
conflict, with annual income of about
$3.5 million, the CSPCA tried to renego-
tiate its pound contract with Montreal last
winter. Instead it lost the contract to a pri-
vate firm, Berger Blanc, which already
held other animal control contracts in the
Montreal area. Praised by media for mak-
ing faster stray pickups and charging
lower adoption fees, Berger Blanc does
no adoption screening, and does not
require that adopted animals be neutered.
