Nova Scotia man who confined 19 cats in unsanitary conditions gets jail time

A Nova Scotia man will be spending the next month behind bars after pleading guilty to charges under the Animal Protection Act.

The Nova Scotia SPCA charged Michael Cairns with confining 19 cats to an unsanitary enclosure in December of 2014. They were originally called to the man’s Lower Sackville, N.S., apartment after receiving a complaint of a terrible smell coming from the residence.

RELATED: SPCA facing ‘huge financial burden’ to treat Nova Scotia man’s 66 cats

Of the 19 cats that were seized from Cairns’ home, six had to be euthanized. The other 13 cats received veterinarian care and were put up for adoption.

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Cairns was given a 30-day jail sentence in court this week, which he will serve at the Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.

A judge has also placed a lifetime ban on Cairns — meaning he is prohibited from owning any animals or living in a home where animals are housed. He also must pay $2,000 in restitution to the SPCA.

In 2011, Cairns was convicted for similar offences after concerned neighbours called the SPCA to report a bad smell coming from his apartment. In that incident, the SPCA says some cats had turned on one another.

READ MORE: Nova Scotia SPCA program reduces Halifax cat colony populations

This is the first time in the province that an individual has been handed jail time after being convicted under the Animal Protection Act, the SPCA said.

“I am incredibly pleased with the sentence given,” Joanne Landsburg with the NS SPCA said in a release. “I am grateful that the Justice Department has taken these charges seriously.”

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The NS SPCA asks anyone who witnesses an act of animal cruelty to contact them at 1 (888) 703-7722.