Marineland denies animal cruelty charges filed by Ontario’s SPCA
Marineland was charged Monday with six counts of animal cruelty, but the company dismissed the allegations, accusing Ontario’s animal welfare agency of acting on behalf of “a band of discredited activists.”
The latest charges, filed by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, relate to a number of land animals kept at the tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, Ont.
They include one count each of permitting elk, red deer and fallow deer to be in distress, and one count each of failing to provide the standards of care for those animals.
The agency’s deputy chief inspector, Jennifer Bluhm, said the latest charges were part of a “complex investigation” that began on Nov. 10, when the OSPCA received a complaint of alleged animal cruelty.