MONTREAL – Barbara Lisbona is the President of Animal Rescue Network.
She’s been rescuing cats since 1995 and she houses over 200 felines in her main shelter.
“A cat that’s on the street is so anxious, insecure and terrified,” said Lisbona.
“When they come in here, you see the before and the after. They are relaxed and they’re happy.”
The non-profit organization doesn’t receive government funding.
It runs solely on public donations.
“We function on funds only from people’s hearts, from the public,” she said.
“It helps us a great deal, but it doesn’t give or afford us the luxury of prettying up the place as we’d like.”
Recently, Lisbona has been accused of warehousing cats in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.
“Cats don’t care about a run-down wall, floor, building or holes in the walls,” she said.
“Cats in the street suffer tremendously from hunger, abuse and being regarded by some people as a nuisance.”
A few weeks ago, Susan Mackasey started a petition to shut down Animal Rescue Network.
She claimed Lisbona is a rescue hoarder and is accusing her of animal neglect and cruelty.
“In the infirmary, they were all in cages, everyone gets sterilized, or else she’d have 1,000 of them,” said Mackasey.
“She’s like an organized hoarding operation.”
To date, Mackasey has gathered over 1,800 signatures, which she plans to present to Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture.
Global News tried to reach out to the Ministry for comment, but they were unavailable.
“I’ve got proof, I have the facts, documentation and testimonials from professionals,” she said.
“I’m not going to stop until I close her down.”
Until a decision is made, Lisbona said sh will continue bringing in cats away from their lives on the streets.
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