Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

If SPCA Tampa Bay is sanctioned in Waddles case, could the shelter stay open?

tampabay.com · 14dShare

If a judge rules that the SPCA Tampa Bay committed animal cruelty, would its shelter be shut down? That’s the question some animal lovers are asking as a case involving a sunburned pig goes to trial Wednesday. “If the SPCA Tampa Bay has to close its doors, who will suffer? The community. The volunteers. The staff. Most of all, the animals,” a commenter who identified themselves as a volunteer for the SPCA wrote below a Tampa Bay Times story about Waddles. “They get in orphaned newborns to twenty-year-olds who have outlived their owners,” the volunteer wrote. “Typically, 50 to 80 animals are adopted by new families each week. What will happen to the thousands of unwanted pets and the injured wildlife if it’s gone?” A lawyer for the SPCA said it’s unclear what will happen if the judge finds the accusation credible. But he’s not worried. “We have no expectation that the SPCA will do anything but continue to operate,” Alec Waid said Monday. If the judge rules against the nonprofit animal w

First report: Montreal SPCA calls to end rental rules that bar pets as abandoned animal tally soars — thestar.com, 17d