The SPCA is asking the public to help identify two people suspected of dumping three live kittens into a garbage can at a Vancouver Island ferry terminal last month.
Nanaimo SPCA branch manager Leon Davis says the incident, which was caught on surveillance cameras, is a clear-cut case of animal cruelty.
"To abandon an animal anywhere, people have to understand that's an illegal act," Davis told ctvbc.ca.
"To put it in a garbage can where the logical assumption is that it's going to go into a garbage truck and be crushed to death, it's beyond belief."
The weeks-old kittens were found by a BC Ferries employee at the Departure Bay terminal on July 27. Workers cared for the kittens overnight before turning them over to the SPCA.
Davis said two were emaciated and dehydrated and the third was suffering serious injuries so severe the kitten had to be put down.
"It had several fractures, a deep pelvic fracture and a fracture to its femur that were not resolvable," Davis said.
"The pelvic fracture was so bad that, with the kittens growing so quickly there wasn't really anything that could be done. On the vet's advice we decided to euthanize."
The other two were nurtured back to health and are up for adoption.
Davis called on the suspects to turn themselves in, saying the SPCA has already started received tips based on the clear quality of the surveillance images.
He also urged pet owners to spay or neuter their pets to help diminish British Columbia's pet overpopulation problem.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the SPCA at 250-268-2684 or 250-758-0351.
To view the surveillance videos, visit the BC SPCA website.
