An Elkford B.C. resident has been charged with four counts of animal cruelty for shooting and killing two dogs in May.
James Nelson Bonnell shot a two-year-old female Labrador-cross and an eight-year-old female Rottweiler/shepherd cross after they came onto his property and killed several of his chickens.
The BC SPCA says witnesses saw Bonnell put the dogs into his truck and drive them out of town before shooting them.
“After a very thorough investigation, the BC SPCA was able to gather sufficient evidence to support recommending criminal code charges in this case,” said BC SPCA special constable Jeremy Irons. “We feel the evidence contradicts the assertion that these dogs were killed with ‘lawful excuse’, the defence provision provided under the criminal code.”
Bonnell expressed remorse when Global News spoke to him about the incident in May.
He said when he arrived home at around 8:30 p.m. MT on May 1, he went to check on his chickens, but found an upsetting sight instead.
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“Came in here, had the dog sitting right here killing the chicken,” said Bonnell.
Bonnell said two dogs, neither of which had tags, somehow managed to get into his side yard, breaking into the coops where the chickens are housed by tearing through wire and pawing open the door.
“They wrecked the pen. Ripped all the wire off, chewed it really bad.”
In total, he said nine of his chickens were killed.
Bonnell said he was upset about the dogs killing his birds and felt he needed to protect himself and his livestock. In a prepared statement, he explained what happened next:
“I went into the house and got my low velocity .22. As the dog was chewing on the chicken, I shot it and it went down. I looked up and seen another dog coming around my camping trailer and it was growling at me. I shot it and it went down. I went inside to put the gun away. When I come back outside, to check on the dogs, they were gone from the yard. I went and got my gun again and went looking for the wounded dogs because I didn’t want them to suffer and I found them nearby. I put them into the truck and drove them a few kilometers out of town where I put them out of their misery as humanely as possible. My neighbour drove up where I put them and said he was going to report me. He did not say he knew who’s the dogs were belonged. I drove home and did a check of my yard. I found seven dead chickens in one coop, two dead ones in the yard and two missing. There were feathers everywhere. The dogs had torn into four of my pens, ripping heavy chicken wire, leaving teeth and claw marks.”
Bonnell said he’s never done anything before to harm anyone’s pets, adding that since the incident, he’s been having trouble sleeping. He said had he known who the dogs belonged to, he wouldn’t have shot them.
“I really feel bad about what happened. I wish things had been different.”
The owner of the two dogs, Jen Bryant, said she was alerted to what happened by another neighbour. She said the dogs weren’t innocent–they shouldn’t have been in Bonnell’s yard. However, she feels strongly that killing them was not the answer.
“Unfortunately, with him being in town, I don’t think he had the right to take matters into his own hands,” she said.
“Not only that, if he had shot them while they were killing the chickens, we probably would have a been a little bit more understanding, but to pick them up after they’ve left on their way home and put them in his truck and then take them out of town–that’s not ok.”
Bonnell’s first court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 1 at the Sparwood Courthouse.
-With files from Nadia Stewart
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