CAPAL loses faith in Laval to deal with pet ‘crisis’

The Centre d’Aide et de Protection Animalier de Laval (CAPAL), a non-profit animal care group that was highly critical of the controversial Berger Blanc which used to handle pet control for the city, says a “crisis” is underway with regards to animal control in Laval. The group says it has lost all faith in the city to deal with the problem effectively.
Foot dragging
While admitting that the pet problem in Laval has a lot to do with the irresponsible habits of animal owners, many of whom simply abandon cats and dogs when it suits them, CAPAL adds that the city also shares complicity.
Although Berger Blanc no longer operates its point of service in Laval, CAPAL’s president, Marie-Josée Tessier noted that many Laval residents continue to drop off cats and other animals outside the abandoned Berger Blanc outlet on Cunard St.
Although Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt decreed at the time of the cancellation of the Berger Blanc contract last spring that there would be a six-month period for anyone wanting to put together a business plan for the creation of a new animal control service to work in conjunction with the city, CAPAL decries the fact that the Laval executive committee appears to be dragging its feet with regards to CAPAL’s offer as word from them hasn’t been received yet.
Say they were ready
“We had a schedule prepared, we received our letters patent on July 20, 2011, we were ready to present our dossier to the City of Laval on July 25, 2001,” Tessier said during a press conference outside the former Berger Blanc depot. However, she was unable to conceal her profound disappointment with the city’s intransigence. “If the city had supported us more we would have been ready to start operations on Oct. 17, 2011,” she said.
Parti au Service du Citoyen leader Robert Bordeleau, a founding member of CAPAL although he no longer sits on the group’s board of directors, joined his voice to that of CAPAL in questioning the Laval city administration’s current handling of the animal control issue. “I accuse Gilles Vaillancourt of having once again lied to the citizens during the city council meeting of last May 2,” he said.
Bordeleau wades in
Alluding to recent news reports concerning the Vaillancourt administration’s use of subsidies from the city to fund Parti PRO des Lavallois political activities, Bordeleau noted that Laval earns a large amount of money annually from the sale of dog licenses, although he wondered where that money ends up.
In a statement the City of Laval’s media relations office issued a few hours after CAPAL’s press conference, a spokesman for the city said, “The City wishes to reassure citizens that it has the well-being of animals at heart, but wishes to find solutions that are permanent and ethical in the short, medium and long terms, and is doing everything in the meantime to reach that goal.”