20 cats rescued in unsanitary housing in Mont-Joli

Agents from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ) rescued around twenty cats from a rental residence on Thursday afternoon in Mont-Joli. The intervention puts an end to long administrative procedures initiated by the owner of the building so that municipal regulations in this area are respected.

James Verreault discovered Thursday the state of the rental property he acquired last February. Excrement, smell of ammonia… around sixty cats and one person lived for years in unsanitary housing. The photos taken by Radio-Canada, which can touch sensitive hearts, bear witness to this.

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    According to the owner of the building, the accommodation housed around sixty cats.

    Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-Luc Blanchet

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    The building owner should speak to experts to find out the extent of the damage.

    Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-Luc Blanchet

  • Unsanitary housing from the outside.

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    MAPAQ recovered 20 cats Thursday afternoon.

    Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-Luc Blanchet

The building owner should speak to experts to find out the extent of the damage.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-Luc Blanchet

According to the owner of the building, the accommodation housed around sixty cats.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-Luc Blanchet

Photo album: Municipal regulations limit the number of animals per dwelling to three.

I was worried about the person’s safety. I was unable to enter the building because of the strong smell of ammonia.

A quote from James Verreault, owner of the building

Mr. Verreault came into contact with the tenant in February, who asked him for help. He then knocked on several doors to find a solution: the City of Mont-Joli, the Sûreté du Québec, the CLSCthe MAPAQ... Everyone has been passing the buck since April. It’s as if the City doesn’t know what to do. No one entered the buildinghe testifies.

The owner finally reached an agreement with the tenant so that he would vacate the premises on October 1st with some of the cats. THE MAPAQ was then able to intervene by dispatching a special unit which recovered around twenty animals. But we had to put them up against the wall to have this servicelaments the owner of the building.

Officers bring cages into a vehicle.

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The MAPAQ indicates by email that the animals will be transported to a place of accommodation where they will receive the required care.

Photo : Radio-Canada

The man is still trying to assess the damage to the building. I don’t know what I’m going to do with this. We’ll see if it’s recoverable.he comments.

Hard to apply municipal regulations?

The mayor of Mont-Joli, Martin Soucy, indicates that he lacks the financial and human resources to apply the regulation which limits the number of animals to three in a residence.

Furthermore, the MRC de La Mitis does not benefit from an animal service on its territory to better supervise the registration of domestic animals and the management of stray animals.

The City of Mont-Joli calls on the Littoral Animal Protection Society, located in Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard, but the organization also lacks financial and human resources, specifies the mayor.

Martin Soucy adds that discussions are underway to establish a partnership with other MRC in order to offer the service to the public. It’s a file [sur] which we work on. We are very familiar with the matter, we must find solutionshe concedes. However, the application of the regulation is also a citizen responsibility, according to him. We are appealing to the common sense of citizens.

The MAPAQ indicates by email that the animals will be transported to a place of accommodation where they will receive the required care.

Anyone is invited to react by filling out the form on the website of the MAPAQ or by telephone at 1 844 ANIMAUX (264-6289) if:

  • She notes that an animal is in an unacceptable situation;
  • She witnesses inadequate care given to an animal that requires intervention.

According to information from Isabelle Damphousse

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