SPCA forced to make more animal transfers as Northern BC surrender rates rise

The number of interprovincial animal transfers required has only been going up since the pandemic, largely due to northern BC.

According to Rachell Weist, the BCSPCA’s Manager of Animal Transfer, the organization transferred 4,029 animals in 2022, 4,879 in 2023, and is on pace to exceed 5,000 in 2024.

Roughly half of those totals came from northern BC (2,100 animals in 2022, 2,400 in 2023).

So far this year nearly 900 animals have been moved out of the north, and according to Weist the busiest animal surrender season is just beginning.

Many of those animals were cats surrendered from a single Houston property.

“That was a really big file, unprecedented numbers,” she explained. “They were our main focus for quite a while and we still have a few of them in our care working through various behavioral or medical issues.”

“It is expensive to bring them in and vaccinate them all, the staff time needed, various medical treatment and diagnosis, and then transport. Gas is not cheap, vehicles are very expensive to run… pretty much every one of our centres received a cat from Houston,” Weist said.

This outlying case is not setting the trend however, and pet surrenders are still increasing.

Weist attributed much of this trend to a lack of pet-friendly housing and inadequate access to vet care.

“We saw a bit of a drop during COVID, people were adopting, at home, and keeping their animals,” she explained. “That has unfortunately changed.”

According to the SPCA, transfers of pets from northern BC to the Okanagan happen weekly.

This spike in transfers coincides with the SPCA’s Drive for Lives program’s 20th anniversary.

They are accepting donations towards pet transfers that “loving longtime supporters” have offered to match, up to $21,500.

You can learn more here.