Poisonings of pets mostly dogs
Dog poisoning hard to prove and prosecute: animal rights workers
TORONTO — As police investigate what has caused the unexplained illnesses in at least five Toronto dogs, animal rights workers said Monday that poisonings of pets are highly underreported and rarely prosecuted.
Experts say suspected poisonings of pets - mostly dogs - aren\'t rare. But it\'s not often that the culprits are brought to justice, said Christine Chene of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies. In fact, she\'s never heard of anyone getting caught.
\"They\'re difficult cases where you really need an eyewitness to catch someone in the act,\" said Chene.
\"To our knowledge, there hasn\'t been anyone reprimanded for a similar incident.\"
At least five dogs in Toronto have recently fallen ill after visiting an off-leash area in a west-end park. The dogs reportedly all drank from buckets next to a hydrant that pumps water for dogs and all had high levels of ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze, in their systems.
The dogs could have ingested the chemical from the drinking pails or by licking it off the grass, police said.
One suffered serious internal damage and wasn\'t expected to survive.
Ian MacMillan, who is the co-ordinator of investigative services with the Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said poisonings probably occur more frequently than reported, as owners may assume a pet\'s illness is tied to old age or another ailment.
To prosecute someone for poisoning it\'s likely that eyewitness evidence would be required, as well as proof the animal died from the poison and he said neither are easily attainable.
Toronto police spokeswoman Const. Wendy Drummond said there\'s still no proof that the five dogs were deliberately poisoned but a section of the park remained cordoned off as the investigation continued.
Earlier this year in Calgary, seven dogs and cats died of suspected poisoning, while in Regina last spring, at least eight dogs fell sick from poison. In west Toronto, exposure to rat poison killed three dogs and made many others sick in what was suspected to be deliberate poisoning.
And four years ago in Toronto, 16 dogs got sick and one died after someone buried hotdogs laced with insecticide in a park.
Alison Cross, spokeswoman for the Ontario SPCA, said owners must be diligent about what their pets eat, drink and breathe in at all times.
She said while most poison-related illnesses were likely accidental, penalties for deliberately poisoning animals are tougher now due to recent changes to the Criminal Code.
\"It is now a indictable offence to poison an animal that is kept for lawful purposes,\" said Cross. \"As well, it is an offence to leave poison out where it is easily consumed by an animal.\"
MacMillan said pet poisoners are likely people who are frustrated with someone else\'s animal - fed up with a dog barking or defecating on their lawn, for instance - and deal with it \"very inappropriately.\"