A group calling itself "Friends of the Toronto Humane Society" staged a protest outside the organization's River Street headquarters on Sunday afternoon, saying those running the shelter are needlessly euthanizing animals.
The Humane Society (THS) has been in turmoil in recent years, culminating with a raid by the OSPCA in November. Criminal charges were laid on several THS staff members for offences including cruelty to animals.
The shelter remains under the control of the OSPCA, but Sunday's protesters say that's doing more harm than good. At issue is the policies on when an animal should be euthanized.
"Six of our lovely dogs were euthanized," THS volunteer Jackie Clements told CP24 on Sunday. "The old humane society was a refuge for dogs like that. They needed training, a little discipline. They were not sick."
She said some of the euthanized dogs were pit bulls, which are now illegal in Ontario. She said shelter staff had already found out-of-province places for them to live.
According to a release posted on the THS website, the dogs that were euthanized were either chronically ill or too unruly to train.
"The Toronto Humane Society has euthanized six dogs that were chronically ill, displayed aggressive behaviour, or whose quality of life due to illness or injury was severely diminished and who had been at the shelter for an extended period of time," it stated.
"Our new euthanasia policy is clear that we will not house these animals in the shelter indefinitely as their medical and behavioural condition deteriorates and the possibility of them being adopted diminishes."
The statement says the euthanasia decisions were made by THS staff veterinarians, OSPCA contract veterinarians and THS Executive Director Garth Jerome.
Staff at the facility have reportedly been receiving death threats, but it's not clear if the threats relate to the latest bout of euthanasia.
