Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Inc.)

Animals' Shelter

137^th Annual Report - 2005

THE JSPCA COMMITTEE:

Mr J Morley-Kirk                                                     President

Mr A Morley                                                            Vice President

Mr N Martin                                                             Vice President

Mr M Curtis                                                             Honorary Treasurer

Mr C Gruchy                                                            Honorary Veterinary Surgeon

Ms P Bannier                                                          Honorary Secretary

Miss A Coffin                                                          Committee Member

Mrs A Tomkinson                                                   Committee Member

Dr L Magris                                                             Committee Member

Deputy D Crespel                                                  Committee Member        

Mr P Kemp                                                             Committee Member

JSPCA MISSION STATEMENT:

"Prevent cruelty, promote knowledge, provide for the aged, sick, lost and unwanted animals”.  

CRUELTY/WELFARE INVESTIGATIONS:

In comparison to 2004, the year 2005 has shown a decrease in the number of cruelty cases reported to the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter and investigated by the cruelty officer:

This decrease in welfare investigations may reflect an increased understanding by owners as to the requirements and needs of their pets.  Also, in the year 2005, the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter was involved in several successful prosecution cases, which hopefully will have illustrated to members of the public that animal welfare is taken very seriously and that there are penalties for failing to comply with the Protection of Animals (Jersey) Law 1980.

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter works closely with the Police and the States Veterinary Officer in investigating cases of alleged cruelty or mistreatment of animals.  Members of the public are able to contact the Shelter for advice should they have any concerns about the welfare of an animal.

Three cases in 2005 resulted in successful prosecutions under the Protection of Animals (Jersey) Law 1980.  These three cases highlight the urgent need for the enacting of the ‘new’ Animal Welfare (Jersey) Law 2004, which has been submitted for confirmation by Her Majesty in Council.  This new Law is much more comprehensive than the 1980 Protection of Animals (Jersey) Law, which is now quite dated, and the new Law, once enacted, will help to safeguard the health and welfare of the Island’s animals, which of course, are a silent voice.

1. Jersey farmer convicted of cruelty to animals:

In May 2005, a Jersey farmer was convicted on 16 charges of cruelty to animals, which resulted in a fine of £1600 and a disqualification from keeping pigs and dogs for the next five years.

Further to complaints made to the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter regarding the welfare of animals owned and kept by Mr Paul Le Miere on his farm at Les Pallieres, St Ouens, a cruelty investigation involving both the States Veterinary Surgeon and the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter was undertaken and Mr Paul Le Miere was charged on 16 offences of cruelty to animals.  These charges included failing to supply his elderly farm dog with proper and sufficient shelter, failing to supply the pigs he kept in outside pens with proper and sufficient water and shelter, failing to provide proper and sufficient food, water and shelter to a group of weaners housed in appalling conditions in a dark barn and failing to supply proper and sufficient water and shelter to a boar also being kept in terrible conditions in the barn.

On an afternoon in November 2004, 14 weaner pigs, one boar and an elderly collie cross dog, all owned by Mr Paul Le Miere, were seized because of immediate concerns for their health and welfare.  On the day that the animals were seized, there were even carcases of dead weaners found in one pen, with the surviving weaner pigs running all over them

With the help and support from many different sectors and following an incredibly lengthy legal process, Mr Paul Le Miere was found guilty of failing to look after his animals and was convicted of all 16 charges of causing unnecessary suffering to the animals in his care. 

2. Indefinite ban from keeping all animals for local man found guilty of charges of animal cruelty:

In September 2005, Mr Michael Le Blancq of Lempriere Street, St Helier, was banned from keeping all animals indefinitely and was fined £180.  Earlier in August 2005 Mr Le Blancq had pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court to the six charges of cruelty to animals. 

In June 2005, two German Shepherd cross Collie dogs, one parrot and one cockatiel were seized from the property where Mr Le Blancq was residing due to concerns for their immediate safety, health and welfare.  The dogs and birds were then taken to the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter where they received the necessary treatment and were cared for appropriately. 

These dogs and birds had been left unattended in the hot June summer weather without access to proper and sufficient water for at least four days.  The dogs also had inadequate food provisions and shelter; they were in terrible body condition, had no access to outside and had to resort to toileting on the landing of the staircase in their enforced confinement, as the staircase was their only living space.

Despite their unacceptable living conditions and abandonment, the dogs and birds have all regained their health and have since found new homes.

3. Businessman pleads guilty to charges of animal cruelty for the second time:

In September 2005, Mr Alfonso Luis pleaded guilty to four charges of animal cruelty relating to an incident involving the inappropriate tethering of four sheep.  He was given a one year disqualification from keeping sheep and a fine totalling £800. 

The tethering of these sheep, three sheep by the horns and one sheep by its neck, was in such an inappropriate manner so as to make it impossible for the sheep to lie down.  Mr Alfonso Luis had been intending to leave these sheep tethered in this fashion with no access to either food or water for 48 hours, until they were due to be transported to the abattoir.

It was only in September 2004 that Mr Alfonso Luis pleaded guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to rabbits in the July of that year and as a result was banned from keeping rabbits for five years.  The rabbits had been kept in unacceptable living conditions, with lack of adequate access to water and food.  On the day that the rabbits were seized, several of the hutches even contained maggots in the faecal material that had built up inside the hutches, placing the rabbits at serious risk from ‘fly strike’.  ‘Fly strike’ is an extremely unpleasant and distressing condition for the animal affected and it can occur if flies lay their eggs in a dirty hutch or on an animal.  The fly eggs very quickly hatch into maggots which then may feed on the living tissue of the animal, burrowing deep into the flesh.  New homes were found for these rabbits by the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter.

Through our continuously developing education programme, it is hoped that the dissemination of information about the importance of caring for and respecting pets and wildlife will be significant in improving the attitudes towards the treatment of animals, which, in turn, is fundamentally important in the prevention of cruelty to animals.

BOARDING ANIMALS:

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter has facilities to board both dogs and cats.  It is proud to be able to offer what is probably one of the best facilities on the Island. 

Both the Kennels and Cattery have been designed to minimise the risk and spread of disease, as much as is possible, with maximum comfort for the animal and hygiene in mind.   Each animal has its own individual kennel with an outside run and boarding dogs are walked on-site on a daily basis.  Every day each animal is given a hands-on health check.  

The Animals’ Shelter also offers an “Emergency Boarding” Service for which a number of kennels are kept available at all times.  This service offers boarding facilities for pets belonging to people who may have to go into hospital.

The year 2005 has seen a substantial increase in the total number of cat and dog boarding days, with a rise in the number of cats boarding at the Animals’ Shelter.  This may reflect the recognition of the high standards of the Animals’ Shelter’s boarding facilities that are available for both cats and dogs.  On average, 1146 cats and dogs were boarded at the Animals’ Shelter each month, which is equivalent to 38 animals per day!

ANIMAL AMBULANCE SERVICE:

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter provides an ambulance service whereby trained staff are available to rescue injured animals, collect strays (except dogs which are still the responsibility of the Connetables) and assist the public in any way necessary.

In 2005 the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter’s driving staff completed 2840 journeys, which is the equivalent of 54 journeys per week.  This is a similar figure to the number of journeys carried out last year.

The Animals’ Shelter’s two main vans completed 15,040 miles over the course of the year 2005, with the very busiest period for the duty driver being during the summer months and also the months of October, November and December. 

The Animal Ambulances are co-ordinated by the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter Reception staff who are usually the first point of contact for the public and in 2005 the receptionists answered 22,877 telephone queries. 

VETERINARY CLINIC:

Animals that attend the JSPCA Veterinary Clinic are animals being prepared for re-homing via the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter and the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter foster animals. 

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter operates a Foster Scheme, whereby the scheme offers free veterinary treatment for life to elderly animals re-homed from the Shelter or to animals the Shelter re-homes with on-going medical conditions, such as Diabetes Mellitus.  This Scheme helps to increase the chances of older animals finding new homes. 

In 2005, there was a 23% increase in the number of appointments for foster animals in comparison to 2004.  Also in 2005, there was an increase of 31% in the number of appointments for solely JSPCA animals (that is those waiting for homing or being prepared for re-homing).  

THE JSPCA ANIMALS’ SHELTER CEMETERY AND CREMATORIUM:

The JSPCA respects and values the close bond that develops between owners and their pets.  When a pet dies, it is important that the owner knows that their pet will be treated with care and dignity.  The JSPCA provides the only pet cremation service on Jersey and maintains the Pet Cemetery at First Tower. 

The year 2005 saw an overall increase from 2004 in the number of cremations carried out at the Pet crematorium.  37% of the cremations carried out in 2005 were individual cremations, a small increase in comparison to the proportion of individual cremations carried out in 2004, which were 35% of the total cremations. 

THE EDUCATION CENTRE: 

The development of an internal training programme for the JSPCA staff has been undertaken.  This programme has been designed to incorporate a wide range of relevant topics and subjects including matters such as animal first aid, wildlife handling and basic animal nutrition.  The first of these internal training sessions was delivered in December 2005 and was primarily aimed at the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter duty drivers and involved pointers on catching, handling and first aid of both domestic and wild animals.

The year 2005 has seen the continued production of high quality educational literature, which is readily available for members of the public to access.  Information about a variety of animals and their correct, appropriate husbandry, in addition to information about topical issues such as barking dogs, housetraining in dogs and facts about seagulls is available to members of the public in the form of advice leaflets.  These are obtainable from a dedicated stand in the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter reception area.  This information about various animal related topics is also available on the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter Website (www.jspca.org.je), along with news from the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter and topical up to date news bulletins about animal related issues. 

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter endeavours to increase awareness to certain animal issues, for example, the dangers of leaving dogs in cars in hot weather, the hazards fireworks present to animals and highlighting the message of not giving pets as presents.  These messages are promoted and highlighted through the production of relevant informative posters, copies of which are displayed at the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter and regularly distributed to the local veterinary practices, and through the production of regular press releases about these topical animal issues, which are circulated to the relevant media stations.  All of the press releases are also made available to members of the public on the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter website.  

Every year, MSP Publishing, in conjunction with the Jersey Evening Post, kindly produce a magazine, free of charge, for the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter, the material of which is all produced internally by the JSPCA’s veterinary surgeon.  This magazine is subsequently distributed Island wide within an edition of the JEP and provides the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter with an invaluable opportunity to emphasize the importance of caring for all animals, both domestic and wild.

In 2005, the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter was asked for guidance in several animal matters from both the Police force and one of the Fire and Rescue Service teams.  The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter veterinary surgeon was approached by one of the Police Officers responsible for developing the Jersey Police Training programme to deliver a presentation about the Laws relating to animals on the Island.  A presentation was given to the first batch of new Police recruits trained on the Island in October 2005 and this not only covered the Importation of dogs, cats and other mammals (Jersey) Order 1976, the Dogs (Jersey) Law 1961, the Pets Travel Scheme (Jersey) Order 2003, but also the old 1980 Protection of animals (Jersey) Law and the new, but yet to be enacted, 2004 Animal Welfare (Jersey) Law.  This provided an ideal opportunity to familiarise the new recruits with the police person’s role in enforcing the new Animal Welfare Law, obtaining a warrant and the general process involved in evidence collection (with a view to a prosecution) and the seizure of animals. 

In March 2005, a presentation was also given by the JSPCA veterinary surgeon to ‘White Watch’ of the Fire and Rescue Service about animal handling and restraint techniques.  The Fire and Rescue Services can be called by members of the public and the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter to assist with animals that may have become trapped, for example, birds that have fallen into chimneys, cats that have become stuck in difficult to reach places and the Fire and Rescue Services help and support may also be required in the rare event of a marine mammal stranding.  The presentation was designed to address common problems and situations that the officers may encounter and give them guidance as to how to correctly handle and attempt to catch and restrain animals and birds, both domestic and wild.

Lastly, the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter continues to liase with individuals and schools, providing work experience placements for students.  The Animals’ Shelter can offer placements for the Project Trident Scheme and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, amongst others, as well as providing the opportunity for individuals to gain experience of working with animals.

TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION OF WILDLIFE: 2004 - 2005