When you join the BC SPCA, as a volunteer, employee, member, donor or community supporter, you become part of the largest animal welfare agency of its kind in North America. Together we fight animal cruelty and enhance the lives of domestic, farm and wild animals in B.C.
Emergency care & services
- Protecting animals from abuse. We are the only animal agency in B.C. with the authority to respond to complaints of suspected abuse and neglect. Our Special Provincial Constables carry out nearly 8,000 cruelty investigations each year and provide evidence to Crown counsel to bring animal abusers to justice under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Criminal Code of Canada.
- Sheltering & adoptions. As the largest sheltering organization in the world, we provide temporary sanctuary for tens of thousands of animals each year through our 31 branches in B.C. Our goal is to save the lives of all healthy and treatable animals entering our care and to adopt them into new, loving homes.
- Emergency rescue & treatment. Your support helps us provide emergency rescue and veterinary treatment for thousands of sick and injured animals each year.
- Lost & found pets. We reunite thousands of lost pets each year with their anxious guardians through our shelters, our lost and found website and our Pet Registry, B.C.’s only centralized pet identification database to bring lost animals home safely.
- Protecting farm animals. It’s not just about dogs and cats at the BC SPCA. Our farm animal welfare experts help create a better life for B.C.’s 20 million farm animals by increasing public awareness of farm animal welfare issues, promoting individual actions that support improving farm animal welfare, pressing for evidence-based changes to provincial and national laws, and through involvement with the Codes of Practice for farm animal care.
- Saving wildlife. Your support makes it possible for us to rescue as many as 2,043 injured and orphaned wild animals each year through our shelters and through Wild ARC, our wildlife rehabilitation centre located in Metchosin on Vancouver Island.
Creating change for animals
- Advocating for animals. Your voice matters. Subscribe to our Anim@ls news alert and our Action Alerts and join us as we speak out on animal-related issues, such as stronger animal cruelty laws, puppy mills and pet-friendly rental housing. Through our website and e-newsletters we encourage you to learn more about animal issues and to take action.
- Youth programs. We empower thousands of young people each year to treat animals with respect and compassion and to become ambassadors for animals in their community through our SPCA Kids Club, our youth magazine Bark!, school presentations, summer camps, youth workshops and animal-related curriculum developed for B.C. schools.
- Reducing pet overpopulation. Reducing the number of surplus and unwanted animals is key to ending animal suffering. We provide thousands of free and subsidized spay and neuter operations for owned, homeless and feral animals each year through our hospitals and spay/neuter clinics and through community grants.
- Accrediting companies that use humane practices: BC SPCA’s AnimalKind accreditation program allows more dogs and their guardians to benefit from the help of reward-based trainers and connects the public with wildlife and rodent control companies that use animal-friendly methods and help protect our urban wildlife.
Be a hero to the animals – join us and help save lives!
