‘Horrific conditions’ lead to thousands in fines
Pet store owner, manager handed maximum penalty
Pet stores must set an example for the public to treat animals in the best manner possible, a judge said Tuesday in handing the manager of a city aquarium the maximum fine allowable under the Animal Protection Act.
Provincial court Judge Heather Lamoureux ordered Riverfront Aquariums manager Wayne Woo to pay a $20,000 fine and its owner, Michael Chow, to pay $4,000.
Lamoureux found both guilty of four charges each of permitting animals to be in distress.
“A pet store operated for commercial purposes must maintain reasonable standards of husbandry,” Lamoureux said, in agreeing with Crown prosecutor Rose Greenwood that the maximum sentence for Woo was warranted.
She said all animals “must receive adequate food, adequate shelter, adequate space, access to veterinary care.”
“The evidence of the veterinarians who testified as expert witnesses … established exactly what the Crown says, and that is a set of horrific conditions in this pet store,” Lamoureux said.
In finding both Woo, 57, and Chow, 68, guilty, the judge rejected their defence that they exercised due diligence in the operation of the store.
“The pet store Riverfront was run on an ad hoc basis, with minimal staff, no formal training, inadequate water supplies, inadequate food supplies, dated inadequate enclosures and no reasonable access to veterinary care for wounded or ill animals,” she said in a written ruling.
In all, 333 animals were seized from the store when an officer with the Calgary Humane Society and a veterinarian attended the premises on Dec. 2, 2015. It was the second largest seizure in the humane society’s history.
“I think it sends a clear message of both a punitive nature and deterrence,” said Brad Nichols, senior manager of animal cruelty investigations with the CHS.
“The pet stores in the community need to be seen as the experts, telling you how to properly take care of your animal.”
Nichols said the fine handed to Woo is the first time an individual in Calgary had been ordered to pay the maximum penalty under the Animal Protection Act.
“It sends a message to the rest of the city that things have to be done properly and in accordance with animal care duties, or there’s a penalty out there to be paid.”
Along with the fines, Lamoureux prohibited Woo from owning any pets in the future, but he can keep his family dog and continue to work at another aquarium where he can handle fish.
Chow received a 10-year ban, but can keep two snakes he currently has as pets.