The BC SPCA is looking into a report that someone tried to drown a raccoon after leaving it starving in a homemade trap for more than a week.
Spokesperson Lorie Chortyk confirmed an investigation has been launched into a report by the Critter Care Wildlife Society in Langley, though she could not give further details.
Staff at Critter Care rescued the raccoon last Friday, after a tenant in a Burnaby home contacted them to say the landlord had live-trapped the animal and left it in the trap for days.
Animal care supervisor Brooklynn Martin called it “one of the most horrific cases of cruelty” the staff have encountered.
“When the raccoon hadn’t died from hunger or the elements, the [tenant said the] landlord proceeded to try and kill the raccoon by placing the live trap face-down in a garbage can full of water,” Martin said.
READ MORE: Langley-based animal rehabilitation facility reports “horrific’ animal cruelty case
The raccoon was wrapped in heat, given antibiotics for the fluid it had accumulated in its lungs, painkillers and a shot of vitamins.
“I held her wrapped like a baby in my arms,” Martin told Black Press.
The animal died a few hours later.
The BC SPCA is the only animal welfare organization in B.C. with the authority to enforce animal cruelty laws under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
A cruelty investigations team can recommend charges for the prosecution of individuals who inflict suffering on animals.
Someone found guilty of cruelty could face imprisonment, fines in the thousands of dollars, or both.
