SaskSPCA questions changes to animal welfare enforcement

(Stacey Hein / CTV News)

The Saskatchewan SPCA is raising concerns about upcoming changes to animal welfare enforcement in the province.

Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan (APSS) currently oversees enforcement across the province, except in Regina, where the humane society is responsible.

The enforcement contract for APSS expires in March, and the provincial government says it will open the contract to other bidders.

SaskSPCA spokesperson Josh Hourie says the organization is concerned about the changes, including the possibility of reduced funding.

• Get the latest news from Saskatoon, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

“We have four major concerns that we’ve highlighted in a recent letter to the Ministry of Agriculture. The main one, though, would be around the financial constraints,” Hourie said in an interview with CTV News.

In a statement to CTV News, the Ministry of Agriculture said the province has allocated about $6.5 million to animal protection over the past three and a half years — an average of $1.8 million annually.

Hourie says the new request-for-proposal documents outline an annual budget of $1.6 million.

He said the potential funding decrease is worrying, noting the most recent APSS annual report showed officers logged enough overtime to equal a full-time position.

“If they’re already seeing a strained workload based off the current dollars that have been made available to them, we aren’t sure how an agency taking over would do more with less,” he said.

The ministry said the proposed budget “reflects funding to continue fully supporting enforcement under a new provider.”

The province also pointed to the recently introduced Animal Protection Amendment Act, 2025. The legislation would create animal welfare inspector positions to provide education on animal care, allow warrants to be obtained remotely, establish a new code of conduct, appoint a chief officer to oversee enforcement, and set up an appeals board for animal protection decisions.

Hourie says there are still unanswered questions about the changes.

“We know that animal enforcement officers will soon receive a new code of conduct,” he said. “Who is going to develop it?”

“We are just at a point where there’s a lot that has been left to interpretation and speculation. Any time we can have an opportunity to get clarification, we welcome it.”