A Nova Scotia man has been charged with drowning a litter of kittens in his care.
The Nova Scotia SPCA says it received a complaint in late July about the disappearance of the kittens.
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SPCA officers investigated the complaint and later determined the litter had been intentionally drowned.
Daniel Walter Friesen, from Aldershot in Kings County, has been charged under the Criminal Code and is scheduled to appear in Court in Kentville on Oct. 24.
“Certainly, it’s never an option to intentionally kill an animal, especially in this manner,” said the Nova Scotia SPCA’s chief provincial inspector, Jo-Anne Landsburg.
Landsburg says owners should consider using the association’s spay and neuter programs. As well, the NS SPCA has introduced the Preventing Unwanted Pregnancies (PUP) program, which finds homes for kittens and puppies, and provides spay surgeries for female cats to prevent future litters.
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The SPCA also runs a trap, neuter and return program to control the feral colony populations.
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“Now in 2017, I think it is rare (to see these types of cruelty cases) because of the SPCA in Nova Scotia, because of other rescues in the province,” said Landsburg.
“There are many options for people. People rarely feel they are in a position where they feel they have to take things into their own hands.”