'Shocking' drop in charges and orders from Ontario animal welfare investigations has advocates concerned

Warning: This story includes disturbing video.

The sound of two-month-old kittens meowing under the deck of a Caledonia, Ont., home could be heard in early October.

Animal lovers Sabrina Maye and Deborah Kerr spent days trying to rescue the kittens, born to a stray cat named Oreo, from under a neighbour's deck. But when Maye and Kerr returned on Oct. 10, what they saw shocked them.

Chicken wire was covering the only gap in the deck. They say the neighbours, who were previously co-operative, installed the wire out of frustration with the mess and noise from the kittens. With that wire in place, Maye and Kerr said it would be impossible for the kittens to escape  — and with no access to food or water, Oreo's kittens would surely die.

Maye and Kerr posted to social media to inform locals, and said they called Ontario's provincial animal welfare services (PAWS). Maye said PAWS told her it would take up to three weeks for inspectors to respond.

She and Kerr also called police and managed to get an officer to arrive on the scene who also phoned PAWS. Maye and Kerr said it prompted a PAWS inspector to show up the next day.

However, PAWS couldn't act because the neighbours weren't home, Maye said.

Brent Ross, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General, which oversees PAWS, confirmed an inspector attended the scene and found no violations of PAWS legislation.

Maye said that thankfully, the neighbours eventually pulled back the wire and the kittens were rescued. 

Kerr was critical of PAWS, which has the job of protecting animals.

"That was one of the cruellest things I've seen," she said. "I thought there would be some sort of enforcement."

Other advocates have voiced frustration about PAWS since it was created in 2019, taking over for the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA).

In animal abuse cases, some enforcement tools at their disposal include orders, provincial charges or criminal charges.

But according to data obtained by CBC Hamilton through a freedom of information request, PAWS investigations are leading to far fewer orders and charges compared to when the OSPCA oversaw animal welfare.