Crown counsel has approved charges of animal cruelty against two Saanich men following a BC SPCA investigation. Dave and Dennis Bowcott of North Saanich were charged under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act after a neighbour observed a small goat, an African Boer mix, in distress on their property.
“The emaciated female goat was lying on the ground, too weak to stand and covered in dry fecal matter,” explains BC SPCA constable Erika Paul. “The neighbour rushed the animal to a veterinarian where she had to be euthanized to relieve her suffering.” The BC SPCA seized the body for a post mortem, which revealed that the animal was suffering from bronchopneumonia caused by parasitic infection, a severely compromised immune system due to emaciation and was in the end stages of starvation.
Paul notes that the goat also had an old untreated injury which had caused the animal to lose one of her legs. “Apparently when she was born she was stepped on by a cow and the owners didn’t seek any kind of veterinary care for her injury.” Paul says it is important that all animals, including farm animals, receive treatment to relieve suffering when injuries occur.
Dave and Dennis Bowcott make their first court appearance in Victoria on Dec. 15.
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a not-for-profit organization reliant on public donations. Our mission is to protect and enhance the quality of life for domestic, farm and wild animals in B.C.