I had the SPCA show up here once.....I remember thinking WTF?
They had a report that 2 cattle were being neglected, and wanted a look in my barn.
I asked if they wanted to see the other 400 head being held in my stockyards...they said no, we saw them from the road, and they look healthy ,watered ,fed and fine....we want to see the two in the barn, that had been reported.
(I had been observing them for 20 minutes, wandering my upper pasture, trying to get a better look at the place, from a vantage point, but they didn't know that)
I opened the door for them and told them to knock themselves out....and I would be around someplace if they had any questions.
They found me after a few minutes...scratching their heads, and asking if I had any other barns, with cattle inside.
I answered no....and asked "who the hell would have reported me...."that was confidential of course.
Now in the month before only one person had been in my barn, a neighbor who I've had property line disputes with over the last year....so I informed them of that, and the fact that I didn't appreciate him using their authority as a weapon to solve a dispute over something else, that had nothing to do with them.
They returned a week later from Kamloops , very apologetic, and said when they questioned my neighbor, he said that " he didn't like the fact that those two cows were separated from their buddies, and thought it wasn't humane to do so"
He was informed that the two animals were separated because they calved out later, and we're not aggressive , or large enough to compete with the other stock for hay.....He was then read the " legislation of the right to farm act"...and a few other laws to prevent further false reporting in the future.
We went inside after finding the two cattle back in the herd, and had a cup of coffee....and I told them the story about how my " good neighbor" had a property line surveyed, and lost a shop and some acreage to me after the " new" lines were determined....which i had informed him that he might not want to do that, and he may not be happy with the outcome.
I know they were not impressed, as it's an hour and a half from Kamloops to my place...I don't know if he had any more problems stemming from the SPCA, or if they just filed it under " dumbass" and looked the other way.
Needless to say, when he visits his recreational property from Maple Ridge....he tends to avoid me a little more than he used too.
