An animal rescue in Northern Ontario is on the brink of closure amid economic pressures and a lack of financial assistance from municipal and federal sources.
Jennifer MacKewn, the founder and president of Northern Animals Rescue and Sanctuary located in New Liskeard, said they are spending upwards of $30,000 a month just on vet bills alone and aren’t receiving any help from the municipality or the federal government.
“We're located in Timiskaming Shores, but we're surrounded by tons of little towns and little communities and none of them have animal control. So, if anybody finds a dog or a cat, or any kind of animal really, we're the ones they call,” MacKewn said.
“We just can't keep doing it. It's really hard. With the cost of everything being so high lately, like rent, gas, heat, hydro, food and everything else, it's taken its toll on the shelter, unfortunately.”
Currently in their care, MacKewn said they have about 80 cats and 70 dogs, as well as several other animals including raccoons.
“The mom was killed and there were babies, so we took on the babies because if you call any of the animal wildlife reserves, they’re either full or they don't answer their calls,” she said.
Hidden Treasures, a secondhand store situated right down the road from the rescue, is also owned by MacKewn and is the main source of funding for the shelter. She said aside from that, it's funded by donations and fundraising.
“We have new landlords who raised the rent so we've gone two years without heat in the store. Even that’s taking its toll because we can no longer afford the store and that location is what keeps the shelter going,” she said.
There are only a handful of larger animal rescues in Northern Ontario, including Northern Animals Rescue and Sanctuary, MacKewn said.
“As long as we're taking in all these animals, we've got to vet them. Our vet bills a month are probably $20,000 to $30,000 a month. That's not including our overhead costs. Our rent right now is $4,200 a month and then our heat and hydro is about $5,000 a month for the two together. So just our monthly costs are huge,” she said.
“We also do spay and neuter runs to North Bay and one of our vehicles died and our other one’s on its last leg. So we're like, if we can't transport them, then what. We can't afford to buy a new vehicle. And we do vaccine clinics. We've got like 40 dogs and 60 cats being done a month, so every time they do that, that's like a $6,000 bill two, three times a month. So, I mean, money is our biggest concern.”
MacKewn said they’ve applied for government grants and programs but have never been awarded them.
She said her biggest concern if they end up having to shut down the shelter is there’s going to be nowhere else for all of the animals to go.
“If the towns and surrounding areas don't pick up and start taking responsibility for the animals within their communities, we're not going to be able to and there's going to be a lot of strays running loose everywhere. And when you have strays running loose, you have them multiplying,” she said.
“Reserves, they do culls all the time. Like I can't imagine having a cull in Timiskaming Shores or Englehart, but it'll get to that point. You can't drive around Timiskaming Shores at night without seeing at least eight cats. So, if that's how bad it is now, wait until they're not being picked up and being fixed and the diseases that they have spread more. If we're not fixing the problem for them, they're going to have a way bigger problem that they're not going to be able to fix.”
Parvovirus, also known as Parvo, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) are diseases currently killing an abundance of dogs and cats in the region, MacKewn said.
“Our area’s one of the worst for puppy mills and backyard breeders,” she said.
“Parvovirus is a dog disease right now that's killing tons. And these backyard breeders and puppy mills, when they breed them, they've got Parvovirus and then they send them elsewhere, so the Parvovirus is spreading everywhere. So, we've been seeing a lot of that.”
MacKewn took to Facebook on Aug. 1 to share her concerns regarding the state of the rescue. The post received over 630 shares and hundreds of likes and comments with people expressing support.
“The cost of being animal control for the entire community, it's killing us. It really is. The community, like the people itself, are amazing. They help us tremendously. But it's the ones in charge that aren’t,” she said.
“The post’s traction just shows that the community sees how much we're needed. But, the question is, did it hit the place where it needs to, which is essentially the powers that be,” she said.
The rescue’s Facebook can be found here. Its website can be found here.
