Nanaimo SPCA executive director Leon Davis hard at work helping construct a barn for animals surrendered or rescued. (submitted/Nanaimo SPCA)

By Kyle Ireland

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Sep 20, 2020 | 8:30 AM

NANAIMO — Construction is underway for a new stable on the property of the Nanaimo and District SPCA.

The $600,000 project will help the Nanaimo location take in horses, cows and other farm animals.

Executive Director Leon Davis told NanaimoNewsNow it will be the only SPCA on Vancouver Island which can help resue large animals.

“If they’re seized so quite often at the last minute were trying to find volunteers that have properties (with) stables and pastures that can take them on as a foster farm,” Davis said.

The barn will be 2,500 sq ft and feature a 5,000 sq ft exercise square and one acre of pasture.

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The project is being funded in large part by the Seasted Foundation along with some funds from the Rogers Foundation. Davis said the rest of the money will have to be raised.

“We’re looking to fund about a final $150,000 of it and then we will be needing help with donations the animal operational funding of it,” Davis said.

Davis noted like with all cases they try their best to work with the owner resolve any situation but sometimes it can come to a point where the animals just have to be seized under the cruelty act.

“There is a lot of agriculture land on Vancouver Island and there’s a lot of working farms and hobby farms so quite often these animals are very obvious for people to see who are travelling past,” Davis said.

Planning for the barn has been it the work for sometime, however Davis is hopeful it won’t be used that often.

“My dream is that we’ll build it and never have to use it, my guess is it will be be well used, my hope is that it won’t,” Davis said.

The BC SPCA is a not-for-profit organization which relies primarily on community donations to help animals in need.

The new barn in Nanaimo will be the second largest for the SPCA next to the Good Shepherd Barn in Surrey.

–with files from Spencer Sterritt

kyle.ireland@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Kyle_Ireland31