Animal-cruelty charges have been laid in connection with the seizure last February of 82 distressed animals from a breeding/boarding facility on Surrey's Colebrook Road.
BC SPCA announced Thursday afternoon that Xin (Ivy) Zhou has been charged under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Zhou's operation, located in the 19400-block of Colebrook Road – was the site of a BC SPCA warrant Feb. 16, when officers seized 67 cats, 12 dogs and three puppies.
One cat and one kitten in "critical distress" had to be euthanized.
Reached by Peace Arch News the following morning, Zhou indicated only that she did not speak English.
"I don't understand, sorry," Zhou said.
According to Thursday's news release, the cats seized in February were primarily Persians and short-haired exotics; the seized dogs included four French bulldogs, a Boston terrier, a Pomeranian with three puppies, a Chihuahua, a poodle, a Rottweiler, a Doberman, a Jack Russell terrier and a shiba inu.
The warrant was executed after the BC SPCA learned "that Zhou was failing to provide adequate care for the animals who were currently in her custody," the agency's Marcie Moriarty states.
The seized animals required "months" of treatment in SPCA care, the release adds.
Moriarty notes the February seizure was not the agency's first dealings with the operator.
Zhou appeared in Surrey Provincial Court this morning (Nov. 24). If convicted, she could be fined up to $75,000 and sentenced to two years in jail. A lifetime ban on owning animals is also possible.