Animal welfare enforcement is in flux in this country, and in some areas, in crisis. Public interest in protecting animals is at an all-time high, yet as I write this in late March, the OSPCA’s contract with the Ontario government, which empowers the charity to enforce the province’s animal welfare act, was to come to an end, with zero information available on how the province will proceed with animal protection enforcement. Fortunately, the province has accepted the OSPCA’s three-month transition period offer while it searches for another model to protect animals. However, March 31st is still the end of the OSPCA’s services for livestock (including horses) investigations. The government provides nearly $6 million per year to the charity for enforcement, so what is the problem?
Envision an organization that began as a charity in 1873, then was tasked with upholding a provincial Act in 1919 and given police powers to do so (based on a U.K. model). It now operates 24/7, must respond to every complaint made and has between 60 and 65 officers policing a province of 13 million souls that is geographically three times the size of most European countries. Note that enforcement only represents 20 per cent of its operations. In their last reporting year (2017), the OSPCA received 15,519 complaints (roughly two per hour). Compare that to the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission), which announced a $760 million budget in January and wants to add 45 Fare Inspectors, 22 Transit Enforcement Officers and three administrative support officers to the 70 inspectors they already have. Meanwhile, the OSPCA holds bake sales to fundraise.
Furthermore, a recent court case (currently under appeal) deemed that it was unconstitutional for the government to give policing powers to a private charity. Lack of public oversight, transparency and mechanisms for recourse to charges were among the issues cited. The OSPCA has been variously accused both of overstepping the law in accessing private property and removing livestock as well as insufficient zeal in pursuing complaints, and there is currently no method of ensuring accountability to the legal system, including those laws protecting private property. The current model is clearly no longer viable.