Prince George, B.C.-  The BC SPCA  is aware of concerns expressed about the condition of a herd of horses  in a field  off the old Caribou Highway  across from the Prince George Airport..

There have been calls to the BC SPCA  about the  animals  appearing to be malnourished,  and  there has been at least one  report of a  deceased  horse  in the field,  although the BC SPCA won’t confirm that.

“We are certainly aware of the  situation” says the BCSPCA’s  Special Provincial Constable  and Senior Animal Protection Officer for the Northern Region Debbie  Goodine.  She says  the BCSPCA was first contacted  on Monday.

Goodine says there are  about 70  horses  in the field “We are working with the owner, he is cooperative” says Goodine. “Unfortunately we cannot go into specifics about what is going on out there,  because of privacy concerns, but at this point we are not looking at removing any animals.”

“This is  typically how it works,  when we receive  concerns about the care of an animal, we track down the owner.   If  we do that (track down the owner) we  first attempt  to  have the owner  resolve any of the concerns that may be present   before we ever consider taking any legal steps in any situation.”

There has been  a call among  animal and horse lovers in particular,  to rally  at the  site  this weekend  to  call attention to the matter.   Goodine says  while  folks are free to rally,  she is concerned about rumours they plan to  bring  food  for the horses ” I would  discourage that,  we could end up  with  different  problems.  If we do have a compromised animal,  throwing a whole bunch  of food over the fence could cause a  problem in and of itself. Also,  in  situations like that,  we could have competition between   animals  and we could  end up with  injured animals over fighting, so  if people are concerned  and want to rally  that’s their choice and they are certainly free to do so,   but I would just discourage anyone from bringing food and feeding them.”

Goodine  says  privacy concerns  prevent her from  outlining the steps the  owner  has agreed to take  in this case,  but adds that “typically, in a file similar to this, if   we have a group of animals that aren’t receiving adequate food, water or shelter,   that’s going to be our goal with the animal owner, just to ensure that   those  things are provided and to relieve any of the  stress.”

Goodine  says the BCSPCA   will  be doing regular followup “If we make recommendations  to an owner, then definitely we’re back out  within a specified  time frame to follow up, just to make sure that things are being followed through on.”

Editor’s note:

As this matter is  under investigation by the BC SPCA, comments  are closed.