Press Release

January 30, 2009
Halifax, NS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPCA Celebrates Guilty Convictions in Two Separate Cruelty Cases
 

Two Nova Scotia animal cruelty cases were concluded this week with the parties being found guilty.
 
Allan Elliott, an Annapolis County cattle farmer, was found guilty of two counts of animal cruelty following a court battle that dragged on for almost three years after 130 cows were seized from his farm in Spa Springs, north of Middleton, in March 2006. Elliott was charged for failing to provide adequate food, shelter, water and care for the animals. The case took three years to prosecute because Elliott represented himself in court, presenting a defense that included accusations of contamination of his farm from a military helicopter resulting in loss of income that he claimed left him unable to afford feed for his cattle. The military base from which the helicopter allegedly originated found no evidence of a helicopter ever being on or near the Elliott farm.
 
Elliott will appear in court on April 6, 2009, to be sentenced.  
 
In the other case, the trial of high-profile puppy brokers Gail Benoit and Dana Bailey concluded with two guilty verdicts, one under the provincial Animal Cruelty Prevention Act and one under the federal Criminal Code. The Digby-based couple was charged after the SPCA seized 10 puppies from their home in fall 2007, following a complaint about sick puppies being sold in a parking lot. An additional eight charges of animal cruelty are pending against the Digby-based couple, who are accused of selling fatally ill puppies infected with the parvo virus in August 2008.
 
Gail Benoit was also found guilty of assault against a Nova Scotia SPCA cruelty investigator. Benoit and Bailey will be sentenced on March 26, 2009.
 
“The Nova Scotia SPCA would like the courts to impose a long-term ban against animal ownership and possession in both the Elliott and Benoit-Bailey cases,” says Sean Kelly, Chair of the Investigations Committee for the organization. “This would prevent these individuals from inflicting further abuse on animals and send a message that this behaviour is not acceptable in Nova Scotia,” Kelly continues.
 
The Nova Scotia SPCA is a non-profit registered charity organized under the provincial Animal Cruelty Prevention Act, dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals and to the promotion of respect and humane care for animals. The Nova Scotia SPCA relies almost entirely on donations to sustain its animal cruelty investigations unit. The Society gratefully acknowledges the support provided by the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture in handling the cattle seized from the Elliott farm in 2006.
 
For media interviews or further information, please contact media@spcans.ca or call the Nova Scotia SPCA provincial office at (902) 835-4798.