By: Cheryl Hanna
From: Examiner.com
Photo: Howling Dog Tours
Robert Fawcett, the former general manager of the Whistler, British Columbia Howling Dog Tours pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to animal cruelty at the North Vancouver Provincial Court. Judge Steven Merrick ordered a psychological report of Fawcett before deciding on sentencing.
In one of the most distressing and egregious animal cruelty cases in the history of British Columbia, Robert Fawcett brutally shot, slit dogs’ throats, and wounded 100 healthy sled dogs between April 21 to April 23, 2010 as part of a cull after the 2010 Olympics. Some of the dogs were still alive and other dogs watched as Fawcett buried all of them in a mass grave.
In 2011 Fawcett applied to WorkSafe for worker’s compensation claiming “post traumatic stress.” The news of Fawcett’s report and the description of what went on in Whistler caused outrage throughout the world.
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals exhumed the bodies of 54 sled dogs for necropsies in an extremely emotional investigation in order to gather the necessary evidence to prosecute Fawcett for causing unnecessary pain and suffering to the dogs.
Marice Moriarty, the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals worked tirelessly on the Whistler animal cruelty investigation.
Since then the Sled Dog Code of Practice has been established which now maintains minimum standards of care, health, nutrition, housing, work, transportation and the humane euthanasia of sled dogs.
Fawcett faces the maximum of five-years in prison and up to a $75,000 fine.
Several humane supporters were present in the courtroom and are encouraged to spread the message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated.
Read more: Examiner.com
