82 animals seized from Alberta rural property during police investigation

Southern Alberta RCMP have charged a 44-year-old man in connection with an investigation that saw 82 animals in distress seized from a home in Mountain View County, north of Calgary.

The investigation began on April 22, when Mounties arrested a man leaving a rural property with a truck hauling a trailer loaded with a skid steer. All of the vehicles turned out to be stolen, police said, so they obtained a search warrant for the home.

Officers arrested a resident and located the following during the search:

• Six stolen trucks;
• Four utility trailers;
• A Polaris ATV;
• A Raptor Keystone RV;
• Two flat deck trailers;
• Two shotguns;
• A bolt-action rifle;
• Two .22-calibre rifles;
• Thousands of rounds of ammunition;
• Six industrial heaters; and
• A red Norco Sight VLT 12-speed mountain bike with the serial number removed.

In addition with the stolen property, police also discovered numerous animals in distress.

Fifty-six dogs of various breeds were seized from the property, as well as 10 sheep, nine llamas, four chickens and three geese.

The investigation into the welfare of the animals is being conducted by the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

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Michael McGill, of Mountain View County, is charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, failure to comply with a release order and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

No charges have been laid against the accused in relation to the animals as the SPCA's investigation is still ongoing.

However, the organization says the additional seizures have added to "an extensive list" of animals in the SPCA's care.

Officials say since March, 250 animals have been seized by or surrendered to the agency, with the most coming from four investigations.

"Our team, and the animal welfare community as a whole, is facing unprecedented pressure this spring," said Alberta SPCA executive director Leanne Niblock in a news release.

"Rising costs of living, lingering impacts of the pandemic, and climate change leading to drought and wildfire just exacerbate the already desperate situation. These large rescues add enormously to the pressure, and to be blunt, to our expenses."

If anyone is looking to help the SPCA care for seized animals, they can do so by fostering or donating funds.

Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson for the SPCA told CTV News that the dogs won't be available until they're given medical clearance.

“We’re getting a lot of calls from people who want to foster or adopt these dogs (as we expected)," he said. "If it’s possible to mention in the story that the animals are being medically evaluated and are not available for adoption at this time, we’d appreciate it.”

Additional details can be found on the SPCA's website.