Three days have been set aside in Williams Lake Provincial Court for the trial of a man accused of animal cruelty.
66-year-old Terry Baker is charged with one count of causing unnecessary pain/suffering to an animal and failing to provide necessaries for an animal.
He’s also charged with breaching his probation order.
The offences are alleged to have occurred on January 12, 2018.
The BC SPCA said 46 neglected dogs and puppies were seized from Baker’s rural property north of Williams Lake in February 2018.
“The dogs were seized because of lack of shelter, poor sanitation, and inadequate veterinary care but the biggest issue, once they were in our care, was that they were terrified of human contact,” Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer for the BC SPCA said in a news release.
“The fact that the majority of the dogs have responded to the behavior modification to the point that we were able to adopt them into new homes is quite incredible, given the condition they were in when they were seized.”
Baker has previously been convicted of animal cruelty in Saskatchewan, and for the next three years was ordered to not own or possess more than 10 dogs, six horses, and 10 chickens, and 20 animals under the age of six months for breeding purposes.
His trial starts on September 16, 2019. If convicted Baker faces a maximum fine of $10,000, up to five years in jail, and up to a lifetime ban on owning animals.
“As these matters remain before the court the BC Prosecution Service will have no further comment on the circumstances of the offences or the evidence to be lead at trial,” Dan McLaughlin said in an email to MyCaribooNow confirming Baker’s trial date.