The third-party investigation into the Edmonton Humane Society (EHS) after three cats were left in a transport van for 22 days has been completed.
It found that “a combination of unfortunate events, human error and operational shortcomings at the Edmonton Humane Society” led to the incident.
The cats—Chance, Lucky and Magic—were “unknowingly left” in the van after a transfer from Grande Prairie to Edmonton on March 27, 2018.
They were found inside the vehicle on April 18 before another transfer. The cats were dehydrated and had urine burns on their feet.
“The Edmonton Humane Society deeply regrets what happened and is committed to learning from this difficult chapter in our more than 110 year history,” Edmonton Humane Society Board Chair Summer Bradko said. “This third-party investigation has been an important step in identifying what went wrong and what we need to fix at EHS.”
The third-party investigation was ordered last June and was led by former councillor Kim Krushell.
“I commend the Edmonton Humane Society for getting to the bottom of what went wrong. No stone was left unturned,” Krushell said.
EHS is making the following changes to make sure a similar incident does not happen again:
- Transports require pre and post-trip vehicle inspection
- Animal tracking forms must be completed and submitted
- Trips over 100 kilometres require two drivers
- Trips over seven hours round-trip require drivers to stay overnight
