Animals ignored at Sydney shelter: witness

A Nova Scotia Supreme Court hearing to decide who will run the animal shelter in Sydney heard from its first witness Wednesday who said animals were not well cared for.

John MacPhail, who was on the board of directors and volunteered at the shelter in Sydney for several months last year, testified that he saw injured animals sitting in kennels for days on end.

He was also critical of cleaning procedures. Dogs were covered in Comet, MacPhail said, and their food would be rolling in it. After they ate, he said, they would get diarrhea.

He took his concerns to the provincial SPCA.

MacPhail admitted he could not remember specific dates or times for the incidents.

He will be back on the witness stand Thursday.

The court will also hear from several employees of the provincial SPCA, as well as the chair of the local board, and an official with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Hearsay evidence

The provincial SPCA is asking for an injunction allowing it to take over the building. It claims the facility has been badly run.

Much of the first day of the hearing was taken up with arguments over hearsay evidence.

A number of the witness affidavits rely on photos or statements about the shelter submitted by third parties who aren't part of this court proceeding.

Lawyers argued it would not be possible to verify much of that evidence.

Justice Patrick Murray painstakingly went through a number of affidavits, striking out parts that would not be admissible.

Nova Scotia SPCA disbanded its Sydney branch in November, but shelter officials refused to leave and renamed the facility the Cape Breton Humane Society.

Two veterinarians who inspected the shelter for the municipality noted bad smells, overcrowding, a lack of protocols for cleaning and a haphazard system for examining sick animals.

Mayor John Morgan demanded immediate improvements at the shelter after reading their report