Message from New Brunswick breeders' group chair

By now most of you are aware of a few issues that have taken place in the past two weeks.

• Threats that without owner immediate compliance Agents can arrive without notice and take away pets.
• Still calling without immediately identifying themselves as NBSPCA agents - leading into the conversation pretending to be puppy buyers.
• Still getting statements from agents “we become suspicious of wrongdoing if breeders refuse immediate entrance into their home”.
• Agents lying to breeders to intimate them into inspection. (ie. being told they are the first to refuse entry into their home)
• Threats to arrive with RCMP Officers - arrests of owners and dogs seized if you don’t let them in your primary dwelling.
• Comments that we should be staying home 24/7 with puppies, not leaving them to take our children to school etc.
• Arriving at people’s homes unannounced wearing bullet proof vests etc, very intimidating for citizens who have never dealt with the law nor aware they are operating outside the new legislation.
• giving non-compliance chits (no puppies onsite nor do these people currently have any for sale)
• going through dog show catalogues, initiating harassment based on information found within. Note: puppies born/sold prior to 1 June 10
• using “anonymous tips” to begin the harassment even though legally these tips cannot be acted upon in a court of law.
• Breeders are being quoted different fine amounts for initial non compliance.
• Breeders given only a temporary license and lists of changes that need to be made yet there is still no appeal process in place.
• Breeders having to make changes to their primary dwelling without an appeal process in place.
• Chief Inspector doing inspections yet we have been told he wants be part of the appeal process, he is not on the list of agents we should be dealing with.
• Breeders are still having to deal with their primary dwelling being videotaped.

Non compliance with the licensing regulation is not in these cases an act of cruelty to animals, therefore not covered in the criminal code of Canada. Therefore many of the threats and subsequent harassment handed out by agents of the NBSPCA to these citizens would without a doubt be considered overstepping their authority. They were given limited powers of a peace officer, yet are far exceeding the full powers of a Police Officer. If an RCMP was reported to have done even a small portion of what has happened to citizens in the past month, it would most likely result in an internal investigation; so why is it continuing?