Statement from the Toronto Humane Society and Hospital

TORONTO , Nov. 28 /CNW/ - The following is a statement from Bob Hambley , Acting President of the Toronto Humane Society:

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers of the Toronto Humane Society and Hospital, I would like to express our sadness and disappointment with the recent actions of the OSPCA. We vehemently disagree with their tactics and assertions.

We are proud to work at the largest companion hospital in Canada and for a Humane Society that has been delivering care to animals since 1887. The Society has been around this long because it fills the desperately needed role of adoption facility and haven, and it is the only facility in Toronto with a hospital capacity to take care of the most sick and vulnerable animals abandoned in the Toronto area.

The Society is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is fully funded through the donations of its supporters. It takes in and cares for approximately 11,000 sick, injured and abandoned animals each year. For most of these animals, we are their last resort. We do everything in our power to return them to health and find them a good home or return them to their natural environment. While the animals are in our care, our staff and hundreds of volunteers do everything they can to improve our 'patients' quality of life.

We look forward to continuing to provide the highest standards of care to the animals entrusted to us. When the Toronto Humane Society and Hospital reopens we will immediately undertake the following actions.

    
    -  Hire a well-respected expert in the field of animal care as the
       Society's Interim Executive Director. This person will conduct a
       thorough review of Society operational practices including staffing
       levels, the number of animals taken in, and assist in the hiring of a
       new Executive Director.

    -  Install a well-respected veterinarian to head our clinical team to
       ensure the best possible care is being provided to the animals and
       ensure the Society follows a responsible policy of euthanasia.
    

We will keep the public up to date on our activities and how we will best serve the most vulnerable animals. We will have a further update later."

For further information: Ian McConachie, [phone]