Judge tosses Charter challenge filed by woman whose pony was seized by B.C. SPCA

The B.C. Sublime margaret court has dismissed a suit filed by a Surrey adult female who claimed that seizing a pet spell it is receiving veterinary care is a violation of the Charter.

Marie-louise Felicia Allen filed the lawsuit earlier this year after her miniature pony was seized and subsequently destroyed by the B.C. SPCA.

She had claimed that the pony had a treatment plan drawn up by vets after it suffered an injury in July 2022, but it was killed before that could happen.

Subsequently, Allen was charged and convicted of causing an animal to continue to be in distress.

Allen had said in her lawsuit that B.C.'s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act infringes Section 7 of the Charter rights of pet owners — specifically, the right to life, liberty and security of the person — by allowing pets to be seized even if they're receiving veterinary care.

But the Supreme Court dismissed the Charter challenge, saying it was an attempt by Allen to appeal her conviction on the animal cruelty charge.

"After being sentenced, [Allen] will have the right to appeal her conviction," Justice Richard Fowler wrote in a decision posted on Tuesday.

"What she cannot do is, in effect, appeal her conviction through civil proceedings in the Supreme Court."

Fowler wrote that the Charter issues that Allen was arguing in her lawsuit could have been brought up during the court proceedings on the animal cruelty charge — but they were not.

"Permitting Ms. Allen to challenge the statutory basis on which she was investigated and convicted in a parallel civil proceeding ... Is clearly a collateral attack and an abuse of this court's process," he added.

In the judgment, Fowler summarized the proceedings in B.C. Provincial Court that saw Allen eventually convicted of causing an animal to continue to be in distress.

The case revolved around a miniature therapy pony called Bentley, which Allen said in her petition she had raised for 11 years.

Her petition says the pony was being kept in a barn when he "hurt himself unexpectedly" in July 2022, and that he was subsequently placed under the care of two veterinarians.

Allen told the veterinarians that she would raise funds for the horse's surgery, according to the judgment, but had not secured those funds by September — almost three months later.

After one of the veterinarians reported her concerns to the B.C. SPCA, an investigator subsequently obtained a warrant and seized the animal.

Under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, B.C. SPCA personnel have powers to seize animals or destroy them if they are deemed to be in distress or critical distress.

Among other things, an animal is considered to be in distress if it is injured, suffering or deprived of adequate veterinary treatment.

"After seizure, the pony was examined by veterinarians at the SPCA facility, who ultimately determined that his prognosis was poor, partly because the delay in seeking treatment meant the pony had lost muscle mass in his injured leg," the judgment reads.

"He was ultimately euthanized."

The provincial court judge who convicted Allen found that she hadn't taken reasonable steps to raise funds or surrender the pony to the SPCA.

While her Charter challenge was dismissed by the Supreme Court, a separate civil lawsuit against the B.C. SPCA seeking "declarations that the SPCA had acted unlawfully, dishonestly, deceptively, and not in good faith" remains before the courts, according to the judgment.

Allen said she is appealing both the conviction and the unsuccessful Charter challenge.

"I am so unhappy that little Bentley whom I raised for [11] years since a baby had progressed so well and was scheduled for his next set of [X-rays] when he was unexpectedly brutally seized and killed in a [B.C.] SPCA raid," she wrote.

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