OSPCA: Blanket euthanization 350 animals due to fungal infection that is treatable.

[The Finisher]

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/807590--ospca-to-euthanize-350-animals-at-york-region-shelter

This is deplorable!! Every animal in the Newmarket shelter (except for 2 turtles) are being euthanized as a ringworm outbreak has infected the whole premise.

Hmmm.....I wonder if this euthanasia policy also applies to the people who work there too??

Stupid policy and I believe in karma!

Rest in peace to all animals who were once protected only to be deemed disposable by our society.

The OSPCA might as well set up a gas chamber while trying to provide a pleasant way to die for the animals..........

* Shit, the heavens will cry tonight.

" Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely "

 

[stinkynuts]

Absolutely outrageous....

This is a disease that can be treated. The manager was fired because she allowed the fungus to spread, and didn't contain it.

Killing ALL the animals is the easy way out.

Humans can catch ringworm too. Why don't they euthanize all the the workers there too, like the OP said?

This is another example of human stupidity. I am sickened.

 

[randygirl]

Heartbreaking.

 

[Cassini]

The report I heard was the infestation was allowed to get out of hand, making it almost impossible to control at a shelter.

No one that works with animals likes seeing that many animals put to sleep. Unfortunately, sometimes it is necessary. Look at what happened in Britain when they tried to contain foot and mouth, or around the world against the avian flu outbreaks. It is very heartbreaking as a farmer to have all your animals euthanized.

 

[Cassini]

From the Globe and Mail:

Mr. Godfrey said, while better practices might have mitigated the situation, they likely would not have stopped the spread of the infection entirely. “This is such an extraordinary strain of ringworm that we can’t say that even following those protocols would have prevented this altogether,” he said. The “particularly vicious strain” is highly contagious and spreads quickly, he added.

With six workers in the shelter also infected, the OSPCA’s veterinary advisers said the outbreak was so bad that most of the animals had to be put down to insure that more animals and people do not catch the virulent fungal infection.

The outbreak was so severe that it had spread to the shelter workers. This endangers people, shelter animals, and people's personal pets.

 

[tboy]

As an animal lover I too was shocked when I heard about it on the news last night but I am mature enough to know that I don't have all the details and trust the OSPCA did the right thing. Maybe they didn't have the resources to treat that many animals in such a confined space?

Yes, a mistake was probably made in allowing the disease to spread but as Cassini said: not all "treatable" outbreaks can be contained. Look at mad cow disease (among others)?

I mean heck, they couldn't contain swine flu either could they?

 

[catsingool]

I wonder if they are going to put down the 6 shelter workers as well?

 

[mmmburritos]

This is indeed sad news. However, ringworm infections in settings such as kennels and animal shelters are difficult to eradicate (and could take over a year). That is why the OSPCA fired their director, who should have taken action immediately, and why they made the decision that they did. I doubt anyone at the clinic is feeling particularly good about this circumstance. Their failure to contain this infection will weigh quite heavily on them I'm sure. Nobody wins here.

 

[randygirl]

. Nobody wins here.

Especially the animals. I do agree that quarantine procedures should have been put in place as soon as the infection was suspected. However, it appears that they have been trying to deal with this since March. Did they accept new animals after the infection was discovered and not quarantine them from those that were diseased?

I would like to trust that the OSPCA only made this decision after weighing the options, and discovering treatment was impossible. However, this is ringworm, not mad cow disease. I have a hard time believing that every animal there needs to be euthanized. Every animal. I'm willing to bet that there are animals there that are not infected with ringworm.

Unfortunately, I think that this decision was made based on money, and the fact that treatment for this disease for 350 animals would be cost prohibitive for the OSPCA. Not to mention the space needed to quarantine the healthy animals, or the ones taken in after the outbreak was detected. If they could have saved any animal, that decision should also have been made. There were people reaching out and offering to take animals to treat them, but this option wasn't considered. Very, very sad.

I think more about this story will come out. Something just doesn't jive.

Also, their staff need a course in infection control, to this type of scenario never, ever happens again.

 

[Blue-Spheroid]

I have yet to hear a clear and balanced explanation as to why animals with a treatable disease need to be put down.

I'm willing to reserve judgment and will listen to any reasonable explanation. However, failing anything sensible defending the kill-them-all approach, I have to admit that it sounds like someone's taking a shortcut to a solution.

 

[Cassini]

I wonder if they are going to put down the 6 shelter workers as well?

Don't joke. 6 people got infected. Infections can lead to permanent disabilities and/or side-effects. If an infection spreads to an immune compromised individual, then it can lead to severe complications and/or death. Fungal infections can be very difficult to treat. It is surprising how many people die on a yearly basis from harmless sounding infections. The seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people every year. If someone has a relative near death, or severely immune compromised, a minor infection can kill.

I have yet to hear a clear and balanced explanation as to why animals with a treatable disease need to be put down.

Logistically, not much can be done when an infection gets this far out of control and is unchecked. You can't isolate the animals, because you don't have enough shelter space, and the risk of spreading the disease to other shelters is too significant. The viral (fungal) load is sufficiently large, that it is dangerous for people to operate in the area. Infected workers risk spreading the disease amongst the animals.

Additionally, major outbreaks quickly encounter severe logistics problems. Most shelters do not have sufficient staff to deal with a problem of this magnitude. Complicating matters is that any infected worker must be sent home. All workers, infected and not, would need to be isolated from the family pets.

Recruiting outside veterinary doctors does not solve the logistics problem. If you send a team of vets into the shelter to treat the animals, then other animals may die outside the shelter because they are left untreated. You can redirect a pool of vets for a few days to euthanize the animals. However, sufficient resources are not present in the province to handle a significant number of vetrinary workers being semi-permenantly allocated to the shelter. All of the workers in the shelter would need to work under full infection control procedures. Who funds this effort? Where will they all the people work? Where will the animals be housed? Where will all the workers be housed, if they cannot be sent home?

Isolated Ringworm is treatable. A full blown major outbreak where people are being infected, and secondary infections are a possibility, requires different and more drastic infection control measures. Back when TB was an epidemic in human populations, we isolated the TB patients in dedicated hospitals, mostly to die. When SARS hit China, they had SARS only hospitals where many people died. What happened at this shelter is not that much different.

Infection outbreaks are brutal.

 

[tboy]

^^^^ what he said.....

I can honestly say that I think putting down all the animals isn't or wasn't their first choice. Considering most of those animals were probably rescued from the Toronto Humane society already.

 

[HOF]

Don't joke. 6 people got infected. Infections can lead to permanent disabilities and/or side-effects. If an infection spreads to an immune compromised individual, then it can lead to severe complications and/or death. Fungal infections can be very difficult to treat. It is surprising how many people die on a yearly basis from harmless sounding infections. The seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people every year. If someone has a relative near death, or severely immune compromised, a minor infection can kill.



Logistically, not much can be done when an infection gets this far out of control and is unchecked. You can't isolate the animals, because you don't have enough shelter space, and the risk of spreading the disease to other shelters is too significant. The viral (fungal) load is sufficiently large, that it is dangerous for people to operate in the area. Infected workers risk spreading the disease amongst the animals.

Additionally, major outbreaks quickly encounter severe logistics problems. Most shelters do not have sufficient staff to deal with a problem of this magnitude. Complicating matters is that any infected worker must be sent home. All workers, infected and not, would need to be isolated from the family pets.

Recruiting outside veterinary doctors does not solve the logistics problem. If you send a team of vets into the shelter to treat the animals, then other animals may die outside the shelter because they are left untreated. You can redirect a pool of vets for a few days to euthanize the animals. However, sufficient resources are not present in the province to handle a significant number of vetrinary workers being semi-permenantly allocated to the shelter. All of the workers in the shelter would need to work under full infection control procedures. Who funds this effort? Where will they all the people work? Where will the animals be housed? Where will all the workers be housed, if they cannot be sent home?

Isolated Ringworm is treatable. A full blown major outbreak where people are being infected, and secondary infections are a possibility, requires different and more drastic infection control measures. Back when TB was an epidemic in human populations, we isolated the TB patients in dedicated hospitals, mostly to die. When SARS hit China, they had SARS only hospitals where many people died. What happened at this shelter is not that much different.

Infection outbreaks are brutal.

Agreed

Doesn't anyone remember the movie "Outbreak"

How about Bird Flu, Mad Cow disease or Swine flu.

These animals would only suffer longer, spread the disease to other animals and humans. This was the most humane means of dealing with the problem.

Yes, I do love animals.

 

[K Douglas]

Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Clearly this organization isn't living up to its name. Shameful.

 

[red]

Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Clearly this organization isn't living up to its name. Shameful.

not really. part of caring for animals is euthanizing them at the appropriate time.

 

[tboy]

not really. part of caring for animals is euthanizing them at the appropriate time.

exactly, I could never be a vet and watch people put their pets through agony due to their own selfishness. I realize that it is terrible when any animal has to be put down and on the news clip there were some kitties that I would adopt in a second but one needs to be strong in order to do what needs to be done. I had to put down a cat I had for all of my adult life. Could she have been cured? Maybe but that would have required hospitalization and I know she'd be in agony the whole time. As much as it pained me I did the right thing.

Seriously, I hate the knee jerk reactions of some people who don't look at the big picture.

Douglas: did you have the same reaction when all the cattle were put down because of mad cow disease? Probably not........

 

[danmand]

Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Clearly this organization isn't living up to its name. Shameful.

Considering they were the ones who put the Toronto Humane Society out of business.

In my opinion, The SPCA is a morally bankrupt organization. I went to the Hamilton chapter wanting to
volunteer, but left in disgust.