Thank you for doing your part to protect and give these defenceless animals a voice.
Help the investigating officer by providing as many details as possible, including (1) a description of the animal involved, (2) the type of cruelty witnessed, (3) the date of the incident, (4) where it took place, and (5) who was involved.
All information remains confidential, including the person who made the complaint.
We maintain a staff of fulltime Animal Protection Officers who investigate allegations of animal cruelty and neglect. They provide frontline protection for animals across New Brunswick, responding to almost 3,500 animal cruelty, neglect and animal control complaints every year.
Our Animal Protection Officers have the same authority as police officers when enforcing legislation, particularly the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (RSNB 2014, c. 132) and the Criminal Code of Canada.
Action taken after investigating a report can progress from providing education to issuing a compliance notice, to seizing an animal, to laying charges where circumstances warrant.
When an animal is taken into care by an Animal Protection Officer, the focus is on meeting their needs. They’re given immediate medical care (if required) and taken to a partner shelter. Animals can be in our care anywhere from 48 hours to 15 days, depending on the case. During this holding period, we cover all costs related to the animal’s housing, food and medical care.
Once the holding period is up, the owner is required to pay the associated bills. When the owner does not pay the bills, the animals become the property of the NBSPCA and are released to a shelter to be adopted. If the owner does pay the associated bills, they may or may not get their animals back, depending on the case and whether charges are applicable.
The officer will give you a follow-up call and a brief update, but due to privacy laws in New Brunswick, they may be limited with what they can share.
After passing an exam, Animal Protection Officers are appointed by the Minister of Environment and local government under the SPCA Act.
They are the only people in the province, other than police officers, with the powers to enforce animal cruelty laws. Volunteer rescuers, rescue groups, shelter workers, and animal control officers do not have these powers.
Yes. Every complaint that comes in to the NBSPCA hotline is investigated by the Protection Officer in that specific area.
Neglect is the failure to provide adequate water, food, shelter and care.
Examples of neglect include: starvation, dehydration, inadequate shelter, parasite infestations, failure to seek veterinary care when an animal is in need of medical attention, allowing a collar to grow into an animal’s skin, ventilation, space, unsanitary conditions, and failure to trim hooves or nails resulting in excessive growth. In some cases, neglect is a result of the owner’s ignorance.
Cruelty and abuse involve physical harm or injury inflicted on an animal, such as beating or poisoning an animal.
Read the NBSPCA Code of Practice for the Care of Dogs in New Brunswick (2018).
Signs of neglect or cruelty include, but aren’t limited to:
February 22, 2024 | Saint John Provincial Court
Offender: Jason C. Speight
Charges: Failure to provide food, water, shelter and care
Sentence: One (1) year probation, Prohibition Order from owning animals for one (1) year.
February 6, 2024 | Miramichi Provincial Court
Offender: Hugo Bouchard and Bernard Bouchard
Charges: Failure to provide medical care
Sentence: Hugo – Filed $500 and Prohibition Order from owning animals for twenty (20) years. Bernard – Fined $500, Conditional Sentence Order for forty-five (45) days, Prohibition Order from owning animals for twenty (20) years, and pay restitution of $821.01 to the NBSPCA.
May 17, 2024 | Moncton Provincial Court
Offender: Colson T. Copp
Charges: Failure to provide food, water, shelter and care
Plea: Guilty
Sentence: Fined $500, Prohibition Order from owning animals for one (1) year.
June 17, 2024 | Court of King’s Bench (Burton)
Offender: Charlotte Helene Bright
Charges: Failure to provide food, water, shelter and care; Cause unnecessary pain, suffering, and injury to horses (Criminal Code).
Sentence: Conditional Sentence Order for twenty-four (24) months, including six (6) months house arrest, twelve (12) months supervised probation, Prohibition Order from owning animals for life, and pay restitution of $7,851.10 to the NBSPCA.
June 24, 2024 | Campbellton Provincial Court
Offender: Sarah Norrad
Charge: Breach of probation (Provincial Offences Procedures Act)
Sentence: Probation for one (1) month, fined $240, and ordered to pay restitution of $114.14 to the NBSPCA.
July 8, 2024 | Bathurst Provincial Court
Offender: Marie-Claude Comeau
Charge: Allow dog to run at large (Local Governance Act)
Plea: Guilty
Sentence: Fined $140
July 8, 2024 | Moncton Provincial Court
Offender: Angele Lucie Johnson
Charge: Failure to provide food, water, shelter and care (SPCA Act).
Sentence: Fined $500, Prohibition Order from owning animals for five (5) years but may keep one cat, supervised probation for two (2) years, ordered to pay restitution of $5,662 to the NBSPCA.
August 7, 2024 | Woodstock Provincial Court
Accused: Jordan Alex White-Pickard
Charge: Allow dog to run at large (Local Governance Act)
Plea: Guilty
Sentence: Fined $140 and Prohibition Order from owning animals for one (1) year.
August 19, 2024 | Moncton Provincial Court
Offender: Stacie April Stannard
Charge: Failure to provide food, water, shelter and care (Criminal Code and SPCA Act).
Sentence: Sixty (60) days gaol (time served), probation for twelve (12) months, and a lifetime Prohibition Order from owning animals except for one (1) companion pet.
August 29, 2024 | Fredericton Provincial Court
Offender: Justin Paul M. MacFadyen and Melissa Victoria Matheson
Charge: Failure to provide food, water, shelter and care (SPCA Act).
Sentence: Each was fined $1,000 and given a Prohibition Order from owning animals for five (5) years but may keep two (2) cats.
September 25, 2024 | Saint John Provincial Court
Offender: Thomas Grant
Charge: Failure to provide food, water, shelter and care (Criminal Code and SPCA Act).
Plea: Guilty
Sentence: Fined $500, Prohibition Order from owning animals for ten (10) years, probation for one (1) year, ordered to pay restitution of $2,614.95 to the NBSPCA.
October 8, 2024 | Bathurst Provincial Court
Offender: Marie-Claude Comeau
Charge: Allow dog to run at large (Local Governance Act)
Plea: Guilty
Sentence: Fined $360
November 13, 2025 | Moncton Provincial Court
Offender: Stephen A. Stiles
Charge: Failure to provide food, water, shelter and care (Criminal Code and SPCA Act).
Sentence: Fined $600 and a Prohibition Order from the possession of livestock animals for two (2) years.
November 15, 2024 | Fredericton Provincial Court
Offender: Gene Ryan Horodecki
Charge: Dog Bite Hearing (Local Governance Act)
Sentence: Court Order issued to control dog, register dog with DocuPet within five (5) days, and enroll dog in a training program. Order in effect for one (1) year.
December 20, 2024 | Saint John Provincial Court
Offender: Vanessa S. Dunn
Charges: Two (2) counts of allowing dog to run at large (Local Governance Act).
Plea: Guilty on one (1) count, second count withdrawn.
Sentence: Fined $140
December 23, 2024 | Moncton Provincial Court
Offender: Patricia Ann Murray
Charge: Failure to provide medical care, Obstruct/Hinder Animal Protection Officer (SPCA Act).
Sentence: Fined $640, probation for one (1) year, ordered to pay restitution of $541.78 to the NBSPCA within one (1) year.