Christi Lafrance consults with Robert Chayer in front of the North Bay and District Humane Society shelter. Photo by Phil Novak. ___________________________________________________________
The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals used a search warrant to go on a “fishing trip” that resulted in over 300 animals being removed from a Mattawa home, says Christi Lafrance, agent for Robert Chayer, owner of the animals.
The North Bay and District Humane Society conducted the removal on behalf of the OSPCA after obtaining a warrant from North Bay justice of the peace William Brownell.
“They went fishing, having already been before a justice of the peace, using whatever words were used or spoken to obtain the warrant,” Lafrance said.
“And to return without a seizure, that officer would have had a lot of explaining to do.”
Extremely crowded Steve Lamb, executive director of the Society, referred BayToday.ca to Alison McAllister, regional inspector for the OSCPA, for comment.
But McAllister, who works out of Sudbury, declined comment on the case, adding she would only answer general questions about OSPCA workings.
In a previous interview Lamb said action was taken regarding the animals following a complaint.
He said hamsters, rabbits, degus (members of the chinchilla family), gerbils, rats, guinea pigs and mice were found living in extremely crowded and filthy conditions in the basement of the house and in several sheds on the property.
That’s why the animals were removed, Lamb said.
Prove everything Chayer denies the allegations, calling them “grossly exaggerated.”
“My cages are cleaned weekly and I put four times as much shavings in as most people,” Chayer said.
“I also feed my animals very well and I have receipts to prove everything.”
Justify the warrant Lafrance said the Society had not followed proper procedure in removing the animals.
“Under their policy and under their law removal is a last resort. The law says an animal 'is an item of property and should and should only be taken from the control of owner where it is necessary to do so, to relieve distress, where other solutions are not available or where other measure have been tried and failed,'” Lafrance said, quoting from the OSCPA Act.
“They never came and inspected, they only came with a warrant, and they refuse to tell us what evidence they had to justify the warrant.”
Overcrowded them Lafrance said the Society officers gave Don and Betty Hutchison, owners of the home where the animals were, an order stating they had only 35 minutes to relocate them.
The order, obtained by BayToday.ca, was written at 5:55 p.m., with a compliance time of 6:30 p.m. given.
A notice of removal and/or destruction of animals was issued to the Hutchisons at 9 p.m.
It lists the removal of 76 hamsters; 44 gerbils; 52 guinea pigs; 16 degus, 10 rats, six mice and 101 rabbits.
"They left the clean cages and overcrowded them into dirty cages," Chayer said
He also said the officers left three baby rabbits even after being told they’d missed them. The babies' mother was among the animals taken.
Grungy water Lafrance said she and Chayer had gone to the Humane Society shelter on Main Street W for a meeting with McAllister and looked into a room where some of the animals were being kept.
"It was 10 o'clock and they had not been fed, and there was litter in the food bowl," Lafrance said.
"We could hear them cleaning and we saw people coming out with grungy water dishes obviously for small animals. They were rapidly trying to clean before it was observed from anybody from the outside."
Ease the depression Chayer, who lives in Mattawa, calls the animals "my babies" and said he began collecting them to help ease the depression he fell into after suffering a disabling back injury at work.
Chayer said he had relocated the animals to the Hutchisons' Hwy 17 property because of a family dispute.
The Hutchisons, Chayer said, already had several out buildings onsite and had promised to build one more to house the rabbits.
No charges Chayer was on vacation in London, Ont., when the removal occurred, but he said Betty Hutchison had called him on his cell phone while the officers were there.
He started breeding the animals and selling them to pet stores to help pay for their upkeep, and believes a competitor made the complaint to the society which resulted in the animals being removed.
No charges have been laid so far, and if Chayer wants his animals back he will have to pay the cost of vet bills incurred by the Society as well as staff costs.
"I'm not a mililionaire," Chayer said,"and I'm porbably looking at maybe five to $10,000 to get them back."
