A convicted animal hoarder fighting to get back a feral cat colony has lost her final appeal in B.C.'s highest court.
The B.C. SPCA originally removed 70 sick felines and one chicken from the garage attached to the Delta home of Cary Ulmer on Oct. 20, 2009. Agents left 12 cats behind with the promise she'd take better care of her pets.
The animals were found in "horrific" and "deplorable" conditions, according to SPCA search warrant notes. In some cases, cats were found stacked in crates four high, covered in feces and urine. Every one was sick.
After the seizure, Ulmer entered into a lengthy legal battle with the animal protection agency, arguing the animals were unjustly taken from her and she wasn't given time to relieve their distress. After losing her initial case in B.C. Supreme Court, she launched an appeal in February of this year.
In a B.C. Court of Appeal decision released Tuesday, Justice Edward Chiasson upheld the decision for the society to take the ailing colony, stating the court found "ample evidence" to support the fact they were in distress and had been for a lengthy period.
Chiasson said it was reasonable for SPCA Special Const. Angela Mead to conclude that Ulmer "was unable to relieve the distress."
Ulmer's lawyer tried to argue that the 70 cats were not in any distress and she could clean up the area in less than a day, if given the opportunity.
But in his decision, Chiasson said an inspection report filled out by Const. Mead on the day of the seizure detailing her reasons for taking the animals gave more than enough justification to take her animals based on their health and living conditions.
"According to her report, there was no ventilation or daylight available, as the windows were closed and blocked. There was a foul odour and severe ammonia smell upon entry of the garage, which burned her nose and throat."
The report goes on to describe how Mead and another constable found the animals stacked in crowded wire kennels, with others packed into smaller travelling crates. In some cases, the animals were lying on top of each other.
"Many of the kennels had a combination of no food, no clean water, no litter and no bedding," the report said. "Multiple cats in multiple cages were lying in their own feces and urine."
Animal welfare officers reported that many of the animals appeared "skinny, distressed, lethargic and filthy," something later proven by veterinarians.
"Many were infested with fleas, had ear or eye infections, and severe dental issues," Mead wrote.
One deceased cat was discovered in a plastic bag.
Another constable stated a chicken found in the garage was in a kennel so small it couldn't stand up comfortably. It also had no access to food or water.
Reports by the SPCA officers were later corroborated by two members of the Delta police who assisted in the execution of the search warrant.
Chiasson upheld a lower judge's ruling that said Mead had gathered sufficient evidence after spending eight hours at the property to warrant the seizure without allowing Ulmer time to relieve the distress of the animals.
In a sworn affidavit, Ulmer didn't dispute the fact her animals were cramped and their food contaminated. She blamed the conditions on a health care worker who allegedly had agreed to help care for the animals after she got into a car accident. Ulmer said the situation changed when she and her husband fired the woman after she allegedly stole from them.
Ulmer had previously testified she didn't know about the condition of the animals until that day because she was bedridden.
Justice Chiasson disagreed with the assertion the animals could be brought back to health by their owner alone. He referenced evidence given by a veterinarian, Dr. Steinebach, after the raid when he concluded each cat had "at least one distress and suffering-inducing issue and most had several."
Dr. Steinebach said that, in his opinion, the conditions were treatable, but had not been treated.
"A reasonable conclusion to draw was that managing such a large number of animals was beyond the ability of Ms. Ulmer," Chiasson wrote.
The B.C. Court of Appeal case almost ground to a halt before it started in October.
Court justices questioned Ulmer's lawyer on whether it was reasonable to proceed with her request, given that each of the 70 cats had already been adopted out to families by the SPCA.
Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. SPCA, told ctvbc.ca said Ulmer's behaviour is very typical of an animal hoarder.
"The person has a gross inability to see a problem. Denial is huge," she said. "They just want to get the animals back so badly. To fill up their houses again but not even seeing the damage they're doing to the animals. It's sad."
Ulmer refused an interview with CTV News.
