WHISTLER, B.C. — The general manager of the B.C. SPCA’s cruelty investigations says word of a slaughter of sled dogs in Whistler, B.C., warrants a criminal investigation.
Marcie Moriarty says the description of the April 2010 incident is an “absolutely criminal code offence,” although there is no indication a police investigation is underway.
Documents obtained by CKNW radio reveal about 100 healthy sled dogs were killed in a mass slaughter in Whistler last April 21 and 23.
According to the WorkSafe B.C. documents obtained by the station, an employee of Outdoor Adventures Whistler has been compensated for post-traumatic stress disorder after being ordered to shoot the animals.
The documents reveal bookings for dog sled tours collapsed after the Olympics and when the company could not find homes for its animals, it ordered the cull.
“I know I’ve said in the past that I’ve seen horrific things involving animal cruelty, but reading this, this blew my mind,” said Moriarty.
“It was an absolute massacre. Some of the descriptions were, yeah, just horrifying.”
She said some of the dogs were shot in the head, but others clearly suffered and did not die instantly.
A spokeswoman for WorkSafe B.C. said the documents deal with a specific case and can only be released by the claimant involved.
Lawyer Cory Steinberg, who represents the man who made the claim, is to hold a news conference at noon.
Outdoor Adventures Whistler did not contest the details in the WorkSafe documents except to indicate that the injured worker claimed to have killed 70 dogs, but 100 were actually destroyed.
In a statement, the company called the situation “tragic and regrettable.”
Graham Aldcroft, a spokesman for the company, said Outdoor Adventures had a financial stake in a company called Howling Dogs, but operational control of Howling Dogs was with the worker referred to in the WorkSafe B.C. documents.
“While we were aware of the relocation and euthanization of dogs at Howling Dog Tours, we were completely unaware of the details of the incident until reading the. . . document Sunday,” Aldcroft said in the statement.
Outdoor Adventures took over control of Howling Dogs in May, Aldcroft said, and said it is now company policy that animals needing to be euthanized are treated at a vet’s office.