Twenty-nine more dogs were seized this week from EJ Rescue, a local dog rescue facility, after RCMP searched the property again on Dec. 12, according to reports.
According to the City of Airdrie, no more dogs remain at EJ Rescue Foundation's facility.
This search is the second visit to the property in the city’s Northeast by the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and multiple police members for security purposes in a week.
SPCA wouldn’t say how many dogs were seized on Dec. 5, but RCMP did note that two individuals had been arrested for obstructing officers.
EJ Rescue did not respond to a request for comment via email.
The rescue facility has been under scrutiny for years after volunteers, neighbouring businesses, and dog foster families complained about the conditions to the SPCA.
While the SPCA can check in with rescue facilities they do not have the authority to shut any operation down.
Animal welfare organizations in Alberta are largely unregulated, according to the SPCA, which means they must abide by the animal protection act but are not inspected by any governing body.
“Any decision on a business or a person owning animals moving forward is a decision that comes from a judge, not from us,” said Dan Kobe, the SPCA’s director of communications in an interview after the initial visit last week.
Peace officers have authority to lay charges under the Animal Protection Act.
“Generally, when we remove animals from any property, it's because they're in distress,” Kobe said.
He said the SPCA’s role in any investigation is to alleviate the distress in the animals.
The SPCA said an investigation into the business is ongoing.
A petition to shut down the business was started on Oct. 16, which has garnered nearly 2,000 votes.
According to the petition, former volunteers of the business filed many complaints with the SPCA without any changes brought to the rescue facility.
The petition also lists at least five lengthy negative media stories about the facility and its owner dating back to 2020.
According to the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS), all animal shelters should provide sanitary living conditions, adequate nutrition, necessary medical care and sufficient space for animals – standards which the petition states this facility violates.
EJ Rescue is an Airdrie-based organization classified as a non-profit organization on its social media page.
"We are a not-for-profit animal rescue committed to doing our best to give dogs in need a better life," its social media page states.
Since the first visit on Dec. 5, the rescue continued their social media presence until Dec. 9.
Online posts showed dogs that were available for fostering and adoption.
