Elizabeth Stoneham Fund

Actively defending and speaking for the rights of those who cannot defend themselves, The Victoria Branch of the BCSPCA has its work cut out for it. Its hard-working staff of administrators and protection officers respond to thousands of cases of animal cruelty and neglect - whether they involve persons or businesses.

Working under the guidelines of BC government legislation, The Victoria Branch is making headway in the prosecution of those who neglect and abuse animals in BC by increasing animal protection manpower and the government’s appointment of a Crown Counsel designated to exclusively prosecute cases of animal cruelty and neglect.

Thanks to the generous and continuing grant from the Elizabeth Stoneham Fund made available by the Victoria Foundation in 2007, the Victoria Branch of the BCSPCA has been able to expand its cruelty prevention and investigation staff and capabilities. In practical terms, the grant has allowed for an additional Animal Protection Officer and enabled improved coverage of the wide-ranging territory covering the Gulf Islands by the officer based out of Cowichan.  This has increased the ability to conduct re-checks and follow-up.

“The grant allows us to build cases in a more comprehensive fashion,” says Erika Paul, a Victoria Branch Animal Protection Officer tasked with operating at the sharp-end of animal cruelty and neglect complaints and investigations. Indeed, the grant provided by the Elizabeth Stoneham Fund has already seen tangible results with a record number of orders issues, animals seized, charges laid, and where specific cases warranted, referrals to a higher level of law enforcement. Since the implementation of the grant in 2007, 208 cruelty complaints were investigated, 118 re-checks completed, 9 search warrants executed, 3 charges approved by Crown Counsel laid, and 363 animals rescued. “The key to this success, “says John Hoole, The Victoria Branch of the BCSPCA’s Senior Planned Giving Officer, “is that the quality of work has tremendously improved.” 

In the realm of prevention, the cat neutering and spaying program, which covers the surgical neutering/spaying procedure and care of 40 cats per year, is also funded in part by Victoria Foundation and has significantly reduced the number of strays. While that may not seem like a significant number, John Hoole is quick to point out that, “Given the prolific breeding habits of cats, these are very high theoretical numbers of cats we could find as strays in our midst.”  The real upside of this figure is that it has ultimately resulted in fewer animals having to be put up for adoption or having to be euthanized on account of serious injuries or irreversible disease. 

In response to how the Victoria Foundation has impacted the work of The Victoria Branch of the BCSPCA, Hoole responded by simply stating, “They are a very good organization and easy to work with.”