Seized cats stay with SPCA, court rules

A Saskatchewan woman will not be able to retrieve the dozens of cats and other pets taken from her rural home by the Saskatchewan SPCA, a court has ruled.

The animals — 64 cats, a dog, an iguana and seven turtles — were removed Jan. 12 from the home of Dolores La Plante, who runs an animal rescue charity out of her home in Elrose, Sask. The community is about 160 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon.

The animal protection agency took the animals on the authority of a court-sanctioned search warrant, claiming the animals were in distress.

Shortly after that action was taken, La Plante won a temporary court injunction to prevent the SPCA from adopting out or euthanizing the animals.

Earlier this week, La Plante sought a court order to have the animals returned. But a judge rejected her request on Wednesday. As well, the temporary injunction against the SPCA will expire Friday.

La Plante has denied the animals were in distress, saying she was caring for them as part of her work for the volunteer group Saskatchewan Alley Cat Allies.

On a website for her group, La Plante says a lot of unwanted pets have come her way in recent months and admits she has been somewhat "overwhelmed."

In a posting to the website Tuesday, prior to the judge's decision, La Plante said she was working on improving the air quality in her home.

"On the hopes that the animals come home soon, a company has been hired to put more ventilation in," she wrote, noting that would help to reduce ammonia levels in the house. "He is trying to keep costs down but some more donations would be appreciated to help cover this improvement."

La Plante repeated her assertion that the SPCA acted, in part, because it views her group as competition.