Human error to blame for cats left in Humane Society van

EDMONTON A review into why three cats were left in an Edmonton Humane Society van for 22 days blames human error and operational shortcomings.

When the cats were found in April they were dehydrated, hungry and had minor urine burns on their paws.

But Chance, Lucky and Magic suffered no major injuries or illnesses and have since been adopted.

The independent review launched by the society recommends better operating standards when transporting animals.

The society says it will require vehicle inspections and workers will fill out animal tracking forms, along with other changes.

One Edmonton Humane Society staffer faces two non-criminal charges over the forgotten cats.

The individual, who has not been named, was charged by the Alberta SPCA in September with causing or permitting animals to be in distress and failing to provide adequate food and water to animals.

“The Edmonton Humane Society deeply regrets what happened and is committed to learning from this difficult chapter in our more than 110-year history,” society board chairwoman Summer Bradko said Thursday.

“This third-party investigation has been an important step in identifying what went wrong and what we need to fix at EHS.”