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Over Fifty Healthy Dogs Slaughtered in Whistler-edited for update


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NO EXCUSES FOR THEM

Slaughtered sled dogs could have found homes

By NADIA MOHARIB, QMI Agency

Last Updated: February 7, 2011 4:46am

CALGARY -- The B.C. man who admitted slaughtering 100 sled dogs last summer should have known a Canmore company he once applied for would have taken in any unmanageable canines, says its owner.

Canmore, Alta.-based Snowy Owl Dog Sledding Adventure Tours has adopted out retired dogs for years and even has waiting lists for those wanting to give them a second chance.

The ones who don't find homes get to live out the rest of their lives with the company and it's almost unheard of to have a healthy dog euthanized, president/owner Connie Arsenault said.

She said the man at the centre of the slayings, Bob Fawcett, who her company declined to hire in 1997, would have been well aware they would be a willing option in his bid to find homes for the 100 dogs killed -- but he never contacted them.

"Just because they are bred to be a sled dog, doesn't mean they always want to be sled dogs," she said.

Last week, a B.C. SPCA official said experts advised sled dogs are not adoptable.

The comments were made after claims by Fawcett, who was an employee at a Whistler company called Outdoor Adventures, that he was twice refused by the shelter when he asked them to adopt unwanted canines.

Shelter official Marcie Moriarty said the shelter wasn't able to help at the time.

"I want to know who the experts are," Aresenault said, regarding the B.C. SPCA's assertion experts claim sled dogs do not make good pets.

"I've been in this for 30 years, if they really knew what they were talking about they wouldn't be saying this."

She said their dogs end up happy in homes with kids, city dwellers or on acreages.

Arsenault and Moriarty agree laws should be put in place to regulate the industry on everything from shelter standards to protocols on how to deal with retired dogs.

One of the Canmore company's lead dogs, Savannagh, is a husky-mix rescued from the Calgary Humane Society.

nadia.moharib@sunmedia.ca

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  • 2 months later...

I got a newsletter from the SPCA this morning with more information about what is happening. They are starting to dig up the mass grave in order to investigate further. This is an incident that needs to stay are the forefront of media and not have the story buried (pardon) and forgotten.

Dear James,

You will be receiving your regular Anim@ls newsletter within the next few days but I’m emailing now to keep you updated on recent developments in the Whistler-area sled dog case. We recognize how devastated our friends and supporters were by the shocking news of this case when it came to light in January and how strongly we all feel that this terrible tragedy must lead to improved protection for animals.

This week BC SPCA constables, along with an expert team of forensic scientists, anthropologists and veterinarians, have begun the process of exhuming the mass grave where 100 Whistler-area sled dogs are believed to be buried. News of the killings came to light in January but SPCA investigators had to wait until the frozen ground thawed before exhuming the 100 bodies for forensic evidence.

The scope of this investigation is unprecedented in North America, and as you can appreciate, it will place a strain on our resources. But we must take clear action in a case of this magnitude and brutality – we owe it to the innocent dogs buried in that mass grave to ensure that this kind of tragic incident never happens again in British Columbia.

Industries that exploit animals for profit must be sent a clear message: such cruelty to animals will not be tolerated in our province.

As you know the need for evidence is at the root of our criminal justice system. The forensic evidence we are seeking this week is a critical piece of the legal proof needed to proceed with charges in the case. While the resources required to carry out this investigation are significant, we would not be exhuming the grave and each of the bodies if the evidence was not needed for the case. We simply cannot, and will not, abdicate our responsibility to investigate this disturbing tragedy, but we assure you that we are carefully monitoring costs in the case to ensure that every dollar spent seeking justice for these animals is necessary.

While we cannot control the outcome of this case, the BC SPCA will work tirelessly to ensure that every avenue of investigation is pursued and every piece of evidence is presented to Crown counsel. If we do not stand up - and speak up - for those who cannot speak for themselves, we will continue to see animals exploited for profit and then brutally discarded when they are no longer “useful”.

The only good that can come out of this appalling tragedy is if we can change how animals exploited for profit are treated. And that is why the sled dog investigation is so important. We are grateful for your ongoing support as we continue our important work.

In partnership for animals,

Craig Daniell, CEO

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  • 3 months later...

The BC SPCA has now completed its investigation and will be submitting a report to Crown Counsel who will determine what charges if any should be laid.

The BC SPCA has completed its investigation into the Whistler sled dog massacre and will be submitting their report in the coming weeks.

Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the BC SPCA, said it will be up to crown counsel to decide whether to proceed with charges in the deaths of 52 sled dogs that once belonged to Outdoor Adventures Whistler.

The slaughter of the dogs came to light in April, 2010 after Bob Fawcett claimed he suffered post-traumatic stress after being ordered to kill 100 dogs. Fawcett had applied and was successful in his WorkSafeBC claim for compensation arising from the cull, believed to be one of the worst killings of animals in Canada.

Moriarty said that a “comprehensive dig” in Outdoor Adventures’ sled dog compound in Pemberton indicated that there were less than 100 dogs in the mass grave.

Outdoor Adventures owner Joey Houssian told the media last February he took “moral responsibility” for the sled dog deaths, but was shocked by the WCB report that detailed how Fawcett killed the frightened, chained dogs in front of each other, either by shooting them or slitting their throats before burying them in a mass grave.

Houssian claimed the dogs that were to be euthanized were senior or ill dogs.

Moriarty said she could not provide specific information on the dogs from the necropsies that were completed.

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/SPCA+completes+investigation+into+sled+massacre/5257880/story.html#ixzz1V8bgyybj

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  • 1 month later...
  • 11 months later...

An update to the story:

Bob Fawcett: Whistler Sled Dog Massacre Suspect Pleads Guilty

NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. — A man charged with the slaughter of more than 50 sled dogs near Whistler, B.C., two years ago has pleaded guilty to a charge of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to animals.

Sled dog operator Robert Fawcett entered his plea while standing next to his lawyer in a North Vancouver court, while outside, about a dozen animal rights advocates gathered, calling for a prison sentence for Fawcett.

Fifty six dogs were dug up in a mass grave near the 2010 Olympic Village after details of the cull leaked out through a post-traumatic stress disorder claim made by Fawcett through worker's compensation.

The compensation documents described a bloody scene of how the dogs were shot or had their throats slit before being dumped in the grave site.

The slaughter prompted the B.C. government to bring in tough new anti-cruelty laws to protect sled dogs, with penalties that include fines up to $75,000 and two years of prison time.

The Crown prosecutor has asked for a psychological assessment for Fawcett, who is expected to be sentenced in November.

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Granola eaters gonna' eat granola..

If a dog gets eaten by a bear in the wild and noones around to hear it, will someone make noise?

By these standards, they may as well start rounding up everyone who has ever flushed a fish down the Crappiere.

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  • 2 months later...

B.C. man gets three years’ probation for sled dog slaughter

NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C.—A man who pleaded guilty to the slaughter of sled dogs will not spend time in prison, a judge has ruled, concluding the man had the “best interests” of the dogs at heart when he culled the pack near Whistler after a slump in business following the 2010 Olympics.

On Thursday, B.C. Supreme Court Judge Steve Merrick sentenced Robert Fawcett to three years of probation for causing unnecessary pain and suffering to nine sled dogs that died in the cull.

But while the judge said he agreed with a psychiatrists’ assessment that Fawcett’s actions were the result of mental instability, he noted: “(You) ought to have anticipated the possibility of the horrific circumstances that could result. It is beyond comprehension as to how this could have occurred.”

The devastating aftermath from the April 2010 killing was laid bare in B.C. Supreme Court for the first time Thursday by Fawcett’s lawyer, who described how hard it was for his client to even listen to details of killing his beloved animals again in court.

“I will never stop feeling guilty for the suffering that the dogs endured that day,” said defence lawyer Greg Diamond, quoting his client.

“I feel like part of me died with those dogs.”

Fawcett admitted in August to killing the dogs in a gruesome tableau over two days following a post-Olympic slump in sales. Court heard he felt forced into the decision when the owners of Howling Dog Tours put an “absolute freeze” on spending, aside from for food and the bare minimum of labour.

At that point, Fawcett was working 150 hours over two weeks to care for the animals and watching their conditions deteriorate to the point where they were fighting and killing each other in their kennel.

“In part, he accepted the burden because he felt he could do it compassionately and he did not want that burden placed on anyone else,” Diamond said. “He gained the fortitude to do it based largely on the vision the remaining dogs could have a happy life and it was for the greater good.”

Fawcett huddled into himself with his arms crossed during the proceedings. Women in the gallery openly sobbed and at one point, there was an outburst that was met with a sharp reprimand from the judge.

Fawcett pleaded guilty to one count of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to animals, which relates specifically to the deaths of nine dogs. More than 50 dogs were exhumed from a mass grave in May 2011 as part of a massive forensic investigation by the B.C. SPCA. Court heard most of the dogs that were shot did not suffer.

Animal euthanasia is legal in Canada.

The defence supplied 30 character references to the judge that described the Fawcett’s “admirable dedication” to the dogs.

Diamond told the court his client has suffered permanent mental damage and has become an “international pariah,” partly due to intense media scrutiny.

He said his client has attempted suicide, has tattooed a ring of dogs around his arm to remember their lives and still shudders when he hears a dog bark.

He said the one “silver-lining” that has resulted from the ordeal is legislative reforms that give B.C. some of the toughest animal cruelty laws in the country and set out guidelines related to the retirement of dogs.

The 40-year-old has no criminal record, and the psychiatric assessment said the man is not a threat to people or animals.

Besides probation, Merrick ordered Fawcett to pay a $1,500 fine, complete 200 hours community work service and may not participate in the sled dog industry or make decisions about euthanizing animals.

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