Riverfront Aquariums owner and manager charged following 'mass seizure' of pets
Snakes, lizards, amphibians, invertebrates and spiders were among the more than 300 animals seized
Multiple charges have been laid against the manager and owner of a Calgary pet store from which 333 animals were seized last December.
The Calgary Humane Society announced the charges Monday against Michael Chow, owner of Riverfront Aquariums, and Wayne Woo, the store's manager.
- Riverfront Aquariums already faced multiple charges before seizure of 333 neglected animals
- Riverfront Aquariums faces 3rd set of animal neglect charges
"What is most concerning in this case is the blatant disregard for the basic welfare of the animals in the care of this business," Brad Nichols, the humane society's senior manager of animal cruelty investigations, said in a release.
The charges stem from what the humane society described as its "mass seizure" of animals — including several species of snakes, lizards, amphibians, invertebrates and spiders — from the business on Dec. 2.
The humane society alleges the animals were not being properly cared for.
Previous charges
Riverfront Aquariums and Woo, as the store's former owner, also face three separate sets of charges from previous offences in 2014 and 2015.
Woo declined to comment about any of the allegations against him when previously reached.
"I'd like to but, on advice of the lawyers, I'm just following what they're telling me," he said last December, following the mass seizure of animals.
A court date has been set for May 24.