Ottawa Humane Society President & CEO Condemns Mass Misinformation

Feb. 25, 2022 — Thursday evening, Bruce Roney, Ottawa Humane Society President & CEO, penned an article confronting misinformation that raised a false alarm that protestors’ pets would be seized and euthanized at the OHS.

“No humane society would agree to euthanizing pets out of spite,” wrote Roney, exasperated with the rapidly spreading myth. “It was an ugly lie invented by someone with an agenda.”

The misinformation spiraled from misinterpretations of an Ottawa By-law tweet stating that if a protestor with pets was arrested, their pets would be placed in protective care.

Roney went on to explain the truth of the situation: In Ottawa, protective care is in place to ensure that the pets of people who are arrested, had a fire, are hospitalized or evicted have somewhere safe to go while their owner is unable to care for them.

Over the weekend, the OHS only received one animal as a result of arrests at the protest, and the animal was returned to its owner the same day.

Media Contact
Ottawa Humane Society
Stephen Smith, Manager: Communications
stephens@ottawahumane.ca
www.ottawahumane.ca