Warning: This story contains details of animal cruelty that may be distressing to some readers.
A Surrey woman convicted of animal cruelty relating to cats and dogs in her care had her appeal dismissed in B.C. Supreme Court.
Xin Ying Zhou ran a dog daycare and breeding facility on a Surrey acreage and was responsible for cats, kittens, dogs and puppies, according to a May 2018 Surrey Provincial Court decision.
“The trial judge also found beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Zhou caused or permitted the animals to be in distress, or continue to be in distress,” Justice Paul Riley said in his March 8 ruling.
BC SPCA officers were at the property multiple times between August 2012 and February 2017 following animal cruelty complaints, court documents show.
Zhou was issued notices on a number of occasions and failed to comply, which resulted in her animals being seized multiple times.
In February 2016, 69 cats and 16 dogs were seized. They were found with untreated respiratory infection, ringworm and were kept in inadequate living conditions and confinement.
“Some of the animals were found in an attic which was hot, inadequately ventilated and had no light,” the decision said. “Two cats had to be euthanized.”
The Supreme Court ruling noted the attic had a strong smell of urine and feces.
“Half of the floor was covered with linoleum, and the other half consisted of rows of exposed insulation. There was one kennel housing a mother cat and some kittens, and another kennel housing a small dog and some pups. There were six other adult cats and some more kittens roaming around on the insulation,” the ruling said.
One of the cats — Peter — was curled up in a ball in the insulation, emaciated, with visible signs of discharge from his eyes and nose.
Peter was one of the cats that had to be put down. He was missing most of his hair and had severe dermatitis, with skin that was wrinkled and crunchy to the touch, the court said. That made treating him close to impossible.
A cat barn had a “pervasive smell of urine, feces, and chemical cleaners” throughout the building, had poor heating and the cat bedding was damp.
“At least 20 cats were noted to have eye and nasal discharge; they were sneezing, coughing, and shaking their heads. One cat was laying next to a puddle of vomit,” stated the ruling. “The attending veterinarian noted inadequate ventilation, and signs of fecal contamination that would contribute to gastro-intestinal illness.”
The dog barn was without bedding and contained mouldy feces.
A veterinarian testified that of the 75 samples taken from different animals to test for ringworm, there were 71 positive results. Of 69 cats removed from the property, approximately 50 per cent had upper respiratory tract infections, 20 per cent had herpes, and 27 per cent were infected with calicivirus.
Zhou appealed on the basis of ineffective assistance of her trial lawyer.
“The case against Ms. Zhou was very strong,” Riley noted in dealing with that complaint. “There is nothing in the fresh evidence, or the allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel, that would call into question the soundness of the trial judge’s findings.”
