Animal rights advocate targets Harbour Grace home, RCMP

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Worries about the condition of pets being kept at a Harbour Grace property sparked a rally outside the Town Hall last week by a non-profit group called Rescue NL.

Heather Ballard, the founder and director of Rescue NL, said the property owner is keeping the animals in unsafe conditions. There are at least eight dogs on the property, and roosters can be overheard as well. The rescue has also received reports that there are more dogs and cats inside the buildings on the property, though the claims have not been confirmed.

Rescue NL has posted videos of the property on its Facebook site. Dogs can be heard barking, whining, and crying. Ballard said the dogs that are visible from outside are on leashes of insufficient length.
“Those dogs are in distress,” Ballard said. “Clear distress, too. They’re almost choking, hanging themselves.”
Rescue NL has also posted a photo of what appears to be an underweight Boxer or Boxer-mix on the property. The property is littered with garbage, including car batteries, diapers, oil cans, and metal scraps.
Ballard’s group contacted the RCMP about the state of the animals but she said the officers claimed they couldn’t do anything, advising the rescue had to go through the “appropriate channels.” In some communities, that would mean the local municipal enforcement officer. However, Harbour Grace’s municipal enforcement officer (MEO) does not have the provincial training that would give him special constable status. As a result, he does not have the authority to enforce laws and cannot remove the animals from the property.

Ballard said Rescue NL plans to work with the Town of Harbour Grace to ensure the MEO gets the training. In the meantime, they are desperate for the police to intervene.

“If your town doesn’t have someone that’s trained to be a special constable to be able to go out to enforce those laws, then it falls on the authority to do that, which is usually the RNC or the RCMP,” said Ballard. “None of the rescues or the SPCA have the right to go seize an animal.”

Ballard said the RCMP officers who visited the location gave the owner time to clean up his property.
“The mistake was made that day when those animals weren’t removed and they were left in an unsafe environment and endangered their lives,” she said.

The police visited the property again recently, she added, and continue to say there is nothing wrong.
“Just because an animal has food and water, it doesn’t mean that it’s okay,” Ballard said. “I really thought that the police were going to do something because it is so severe what’s happening out there but, for some reason, they’re refusing to help. It’s just really devastating because these are the people that the animals are counting on, that we are counting on to help because we cannot do anything… I’m terribly disappointed in them and I will be making a public complaint against them because they failed these animals.”
Ballard took the unusual step of targeting one of the RCMP officers on social media asking the public to contact the officer and demand action.

“It’s a sad thing that, in order to get anything done, you have to go to the media and you have to cause public outrage,” said Ballard. “It should never be like that. That’s not the way it should be to get these animals help.”
Since then, Ballard and her supporters held a rally that began on Water Street across from Harbour Grace Town Hall and eventually moved up Brazil’s Lane, where the property is located. Hoisting signs, rally participants called for the occupants to free the dogs and hand them over to people who will care for them. The inhabitants came out into the yard, which is hidden by a tall fence. They denied the protestors’ claims.
The RCMP showed up at the rally at the request of the occupants of the home, who claimed some rally attendees were banging on their fence. The protesters denied the claim, and demanded the officers examine the property.

Two officers agreed to ask for permission to go onto the property and assess the situation. By this time, the barking of dogs had greatly diminished. The officers were allowed onto the property by the homeowners. When they returned, the officers said all seemed well as the dogs appeared fed.

The rally eventually returned to the Harbour Grace Town Hall where Ballard attended the council meeting and afterwards gave out copies of proposed by-laws to members of council. Harbour Grace’s bylaws are over 20 years old and, while Ballard said they are not bad, they could use additions, including updated standards for tethering and breeding.