No relief in sight: Winnipeg Humane Society continues intake freeze
Posted October 18, 2024 3:59 pm.
Last Updated October 21, 2024 10:23 am.
As the winter months start to near, the Winnipeg Humane Society continues to face serious challenges of overpopulation and illegal breeding, giving the organization no other option than to continue their intake freeze, saying unless serious change is made, there is no relief in sight.
For the past seven months, the WHS has been on an intake freeze, following a large influx of animals that were surrendered to shelters across Canada-post the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Do we do the intake freeze and focus on the animals we have, but then what happens to the ones we don’t have,” said Jessica Miller, the CEO of the Winnipeg Humane Society. “And I would say we have had much of a reprieve since then”
Miller, says this has led to a rise in surrenders this year, with seven hundred more animals taken in compared to the previous year. She says the influx is due to a number of reasons, but mostly because people can’t afford veterinary fees.
“There is a North American-wide vet shortage right now, so that has a factor when we see an increase in veterinary fees.”
Miller says this has caused overcrowding, as the shelter capacity usually sits at two hundred. but right now, there are 280 animals, with hundreds more in foster care.
And while they navigate the intake freeze, she says dozens of animals are brought in weekly for emergencies.
“And that just happened last night, we posted that we couldn’t take in 30 animals and then 15 emergencies occurred in the evening,” said Miller.
While Miller says the strain is manageable, significant challenges arise from multiple large-scale seizures this year, affecting overcrowding and resource allocation for animals in need. She says there are ongoing discussions with the province to strengthen penalties against those who illegally breed.
“You don’t need to go to a puppy mill or backyard breeder and if you do suspect one, if you see something say something, we have a helpline you can call.”
Miller says, that while there is no end in sight for the intake freeze, as we head into winter, they will not be turning away animals during frigid temperatures.
