Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

[Stormmey]

The OSPCA says it's being forced to euthanize all of the animals at its Newmarket shelter due to a ringworm outbreak.

Ringworm is a parasitic skin fungus that is contagious among humans and highly contagious in animals. The problem resulted in the decision to put down all 350 dogs, cats and other small animals at the facility. The fungi cause small raised patches on the skin, hair loss in the area and itching. Ringworm is treatable, but in a shelter environment it's apparently very hard to control.

Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) officials have confirmed the shelter’s manager was fired 10 days ago because of the outbreak. The problem started in March and officials say it could’ve been contained if protocols were followed properly.

Officials said the decision to put the animals down was a "last resort".


"We are planning on having an information session for volunteers at 9am," OSPCA spokeswoman Alison Cross said Tuesday. "We understand that there are many questions out there, concerns, misinformation and we want to clarify all that."

Toronto Humane Society President Bob Hambley claims the agency isn't telling the whole story.


“The OSPCA has not provided adequate explanations as to the reasoning behind this decision,” Hambley said in a statement released Monday night.

"This type of action to respond to a treatable condition such as ringworm is unprecedented. The OSPCA is taking the easy solution rather than working to save animals lives."

The shelter has been closed and the animals will be put down over the next few days. The OSPCA expects the shelter to reopen once it has been sterilized.

Security guards have also been brought in to monitor the facility while the animals are put down.

"It was just a safety issue," Cross said. "Everybody's working really, really well with it and we haven't had any concerns."

Source

[Stormmey]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

you think they would have found some way to quarantine the animals with the ringworm and prevent the spreading before it get to this

[ackeepod]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

some of the employees are infected too

[Stormmey]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

hmmmmmm!!

wonder if they going to euthanize the employee dem 2

[jamaica_dreamin]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Stormmey1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">hmmmmmm!!

wonder if they going to euthanize the employee dem 2 </div></div>
Good question!

Ring Worm is easily treated in humans. Theymust be able to treat the animals.

[Nanook]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

how sad. Ringworm is not a deadly disease WTH.

[Tulip]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

What an awful thing. I would not have the heart to participate.

Go to petfinder.com. Milk cannot be unspilt but go to petfinder.com. A heap of organizations are listed who go retrieve pets from everything from high kill animal shelters to puppy mills to a backyard. From what I have seen, ringworm would be a minor thing to fix.

I understand that it may be too late for these, but take in your sniffles and see what better way you can make for the next ones.

[SistahD]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jamaica_dreamin</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Ring Worm is easily treated in humans. Theymust be able to treat the animals. </div></div>



Can be treated - not as easily as one would think ... means complete separation from each other - separate cages for each animal, extra staff to administer the individual treatments, and it does take a good number of weeks to eliminate the main symptoms and effects (rashes, shaving down each animal, etc) and since it is a shelter with a goal for adoption, there are likely not a lot of potential adoptive homes willing to take on the extra care and expense required for ongoing treatments (takes quite a long time for skin abrasions to heal from some I have seen)

There was one pug with it at the rescue shelter where I got my little one... so sad to see him off by himself in his cage.

Sad to see so many affected and will be put down.

[Stormmey]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

Euthanization halted, about 100 animals put down so far, the balance will be looked at on a one to one basis.

[Tulip]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Stormmey1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Euthanization halted, about 100 animals put down so far, the balance will be looked at on a one to one basis. </div></div>

Sad that it went so far, but good that they are going to stop and sort it out now.

[Nanook]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

I ran across this article...it is long and very very sad.



The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Thursday that it was suspending plans to contain an outbreak of ringworm by euthanizing all the animals at its Newmarket shelter.

The reversal, which followed intense public criticism, was announced at a news conference during which OSPCA chairman Rob Godfrey and chief executive officer Kate MacDonald answered reporters’ questions.

OSPCA officials originally said all 350 animals at the Newmarket shelter would be euthanized. What will happen now?

Ninety-nine animals have already been euthanized. Ninety-six are in foster homes; almost all of those were fostered before the ringworm outbreak in February and therefore were not even at the shelter when officials announced plans to euthanize them.

MacDonald said 15 dogs were stolen this week from the OSPCA facility, presumably by staff or volunteers, soon after officials announced the euthanasia plans. Of the remaining 140 animals, eight are turtles not affected by ringworm; three will be euthanized for behavioural reasons unrelated to ringworm; 15 brought in during the course of investigations and animal control work are currently being housed in a portable building.

Ninety-one cats and 23 dogs have been designated for further testing. The results will not be available for a month.

Does the OSPCA guarantee that animals designated for further testing will not be euthanized for ringworm in the future?

No. MacDonald said the OSPCA is taking every possible step to avoid euthanizing more animals but, “we have to be honest with you, we don’t know.” She believes there is a “reasonable chance” that the animals will test negative for ringworm or will have been diagnosed in time for treatment to be successful.

Where will the animals designated for testing be housed?

For now, they remain at the Newmarket shelter, although not in its most contaminated areas. The OSPCA is considering moving them into companion animal hospitals and veterinary clinics so they can be isolated and tested, then treated if necessary. Given the potential health risks, it would “not be responsible” to allow them into private homes, MacDonald said.

Was killing all 350 animals truly the organization’s original plan?

Godfrey insisted it was not. The OSPCA, he said, had not definitively planned to euthanize all 350; its veterinarians had actually said only that “up to 350” animals might need to be euthanized. OSPCA officials, however, incorrectly told the public that 350 would certainly be euthanized. Godfrey said: “The way we put the message out was, ‘We’re euthanizing 350’…We miscommunicated to you.” He promised a review of the communications breakdown.

Did public criticism prompt the change of course?

Godfrey said no, but he also thanked protesters and said “the protests certainly did have an effect” on OSPCA officials. “I understand the outcry, and we heard the outcry loud and clear.”

Who made the decision to euthanize the 99 animals that have already been put down?

Godfrey and MacDonald accepted responsibility for the operational and communications failures that caused the crisis. However, “the decision to euthanize an animal is a veterinary decision and not an executive decision,” Godfrey said, adding that he and MacDonald could not “interfere.”

Does the OSPCA now regret euthanizing 99 animals for ringworm, given criticism from outside vets who noted that the condition is not fatal?

No. The 99 euthanized animals, Godfrey said, had the most severe cases of ringworm; they needed to be killed for their own sakes and for the safety of other animals in the shelter. MacDonald said many of the animals were “clearly in distress.” “We’ve had lots of calls from vets saying, ‘What are you talking about? It’s treatable,’” Godfrey said. “And the answer from our vets is, ‘Look, if they haven’t been in this facility and seen the exact type of ringworm we’re dealing with, it’s really difficult to comment.’ In fact, they’ve even said, ‘I completely understand their point of view, because if I wasn’t inside I’d say the same thing.’” If the OSPCA were making a decision about the 99 euthanized animals today rather than earlier this week, Godfrey said, “nothing would have changed.”

The OSPCA says the animals have been afflicted with an especially “aggressive” strain of ringworm. What does it actually know about the strain?

Little, as test results have not yet come back. It believes the ringworm is especially aggressive, MacDonald said, because this is what veterinarians have told them and because it has been resistant to treatment.

How did the ringworm enter the shelter?

The OSPCA believes the ringworm was brought in by four long-haired Himalayan cats that arrived after an investigation. As carriers, they showed no skin irritation, and the OSPCA “didn’t understand that there was an issue,” MacDonald said. A woman at the shelter who cared for the cats later fostered a pregnant dog. The puppies, which were brought into the shelter and handled by unprotected staff members, later tested positive for ringworm.

OSPCA officials have attributed the spread of the ringworm to the violation of internal “protocols.” What actually happened?

According to MacDonald, volunteers who had received insufficient training transferred the ringworm from room to room by failing to wear protective clothing and by failing to change their clothing. The OSPCA is investigating other possible breaches.

Who will conduct the investigation?

Godfrey said he will oversee the investigation, but that it will be conducted by an independent party who will produce a report that will be made available to the public.

The president of the Toronto Humane Society has called for MacDonald’s resignation. Could she lose her job?

Godfrey said MacDonald has his “100 per cent support” and that he believes “she will be CEO with no question” following the investigation. But, he said, “if an investigation turns up something that the CEO should have done or even myself the chairman should have done or anyone else in the organization should have done, and the result is that person needs to step down or be released from their duties, then so be it.”

How will the OSPCA respond to the dog thefts?

MacDonald said the thefts, which occurred between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, were motivated by a “panicked” desire “to do the right thing.” Nonetheless, staff members found to have stolen dogs could be fired, MacDonald said.

To what extent was the provincial government involved in the decision to reverse course?

A spokesperson for Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Rick Bartolucci said Wednesday that the provincial government did not have the legal authority to intervene in the euthanasia case. During the press conference Thursday, however, Godfrey thanked Premier Dalton McGuinty and Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Rick Bartolucci for “their involvement.” Godfrey said in an interview that Bartolucci’s office had been in communication with OSPCA officials to “express concern” and to ensure the OSPCA was “properly managing the situation.” Nonetheless, he said Bartolucci had not suggested particular options.

When will the Newmarket shelter reopen?

It is not yet clear. “We’re not opening that shelter until it is absolutely sanitized and safe for animals and for people,” MacDonald said. “And no matter what it takes, and no matter how long it takes, we cannot simply do this again. It’s got to be right.

[mountaingal]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

thanks for that, Nanook. I feel it a little for the OSPCA. There is a very bitter war between them and the Toronto Humane Society, and the THS, for its own political reasons, has sought to portray the OSPCA as indifferent to the animals under their care. A lot of the protesters and especially their media spokespersons have an affiliation with the THS.

i'm hoping that the air gets cleared of all the political fog, and am trusting that the OSPCA undertook euthanasia as indeed a very last resort, and with a mind to decreasing and not increasing the suffering of the animals.

[Nanook]

Re: Animals to be euthanized at Ontario Shelter

I would have posted the source, but the site I grabbed it from didn't leave a link. I have no idea what the original source is.

sigh...a very bad thing to do, was to take infected dogs from the shelter. That could further exaggerate the already horrible ****uation.