Miramichi SPCA says it's at risk of closing at the end of the month

An SPCA branch in Miramichi, N.B., says it is at risk of closing at the end of the month without a “major influx” of money.

A letter from the shelter’s board of directors says it is struggling “like never before.”

The letter says it has been able to get by with donations and fundraising efforts in the past, but now people have less expendable income due to the rising cost of living.

“While we appreciate every single dollar that people are able to spare to support us, our expenses surpass our revenue and we are drowning,” it reads.

The letter says the cost to run the shelter averages $25,000 a month and its current operating account sits under $8,000.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

“We know how much Miramichi relies on us, we see it every day in the heartbroken faces of owners needed a safe place to surrender their beloved pets when they are no longer able to care for them. We see it in the grateful eyes of an injured kitten that is finally able to get vet care. Thankfully, we also see it when an adopter meets their new pet for the first time,” it reads.

“We’ve been a staple in this community for over two decades and want nothing more than to be here for decades to come.”

Bruce Macfarlane, senior acting director of media relations for New Brunswick, said there is no provincial legislation or regulation on local animal shelters.

"The Province is responsible for addressing neglect and cruelty against domestic animals through the SPCA Act," Macfarlane said in an email. "The Department of Environment and Local Government provides annual funding of $1M to the New Brunswick SPCA (NBSPCA), which is the enforcement authority in the SPCA Act.

"The shelters care for the animals and the NB SPCA provides financial support to those shelters for the animals in care. The NB SPCA has funding agreements with 11 licensed animal shelters, including payments for vaccination costs, enhanced boarding rates, and a transfer fee, to assist the shelters in helping animals to recover and be available for adoption."

Several people have set up fundraisers to support the shelter, including a bottle exchange and a pet photo shoot.

Jennifer Arsenault, executive director of the Miramichi SPCA, says since 2002, the shelter has placed close to 5,000 animal into homes.

“So, you can just imagine if the shelter wasn’t here, where would these animals be? They’d be multiplying on the streets, they’d be in peoples’ yards, they’d be hurt and sick all by themselves,” said Arsenault.

Arsenault says the Miramichi branch is also over capacity, leaving a larger problem if they’re forced to shut their doors.

“Our comfortable limit is 55 and we are close to 70. We’ve been upwards of 75 this whole summer and we have an additional probably 60 on our waiting list waiting to come in,” she said.

Pictured are cats located at the Miramichi SPCA. (CTV Atlantic/Alana Pickrell)

The closest shelters to Miramichi are in Bathurst and Moncton, two branches that are also already at capacity.

Miramichi SPCA shelter assistant, Drue Bowie has worked at the location for more than three years. She says if they are forced to close, it wouldn’t take long for the general public to see a difference.

“It would be a matter of weeks, not even months, weeks before the amount of cats that would be out of control and running all over peoples properties and animals at large and people getting kittens that they don’t want and everything like that,” said Bowie.

“It would just pile up immediately. Every single person in this town I think would be affected by it.”

Information on how to donate to the shelter can be found on its website.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.