Following reports of a dog named Luna crying throughout the night in a North Vancouver shelter, animal welfare advocates in British Columbia are calling for new legislation. The campaign seeks to establish legal limits on how long shelter animals can be left unattended overnight.
Luna’s midnight cries in North Vancouver
The movement for legislative change was catalyzed by the experience of a dog named Luna, who was found abandoned in Lynn Valley on September 3. After being taken to the District of North Vancouver animal shelter, Luna’s distress became a public concern when a local resident, Daniel Weidner, reported hearing her cry from midnight until approximately 7 a.m. for over a week.
As CBC News reported, Weidner’s online accounts of the situation drew significant community attention, with residents demanding the animal's release or offering to foster her. This incident has highlighted a perceived lack of oversight regarding the nocturnal care provided to animals in municipal custody.
The 16-hour window of unsupervised care
Current staffing models in many British Columbia shelters leave animals withoout direct supervision for extended periods. Several facilities have confirmed they do not schedule staff to be on-site overnight, with these unsupervised intervals ranging from 10 hours to more than 16 hours.
Kelly Bunting, a volunteer dog walker at the B.C.. sPCA’s West Vancouver centre, highlighted the emotional toll of these gaps after observing a senior dog named Clyde left alone from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. While the District of North Vancouver maintains that its shelter meets regional standards, the sheer length of time animals spend in isolation remains a primary point of contention for advocates.
Why the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act lacks hourly mandates
The existing legal framework in the province does not currently address the specific duration of animal isolation . While the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act requires those responsible for animals to protect them from distress, it provides no specific maximum for how many hours an animal can remain unattended.
Maneesha Deckha, an animal law professor at the University of Victoria, noted that Canadian shelters typically rely on "best practices" rather than enforceable legal requirements. According to the report, these guidelines—such as those from the Association of Shelter Veterinarians—often depend on the goodwill of organizations rather than strict provincial mandates .
The B.C. Conservative response to staffing concerns
The political path toward regulating shelter hours remains uncertain as British Columbia enters an election period. The B.C. Conservatives have stated they would work with the B.C. sPCA and other stakeholders to review the issue, but the provincial government has declined to comment while the election is underway.
Several critical questions remain unanswered as advocates push for a provincial task force. It is unclear how the provincial government would fund the increased staffing required to meet a proposed 12-hour limit, or what specific oversight mechanisms would be used to verify compliance in municipal shelters. Furthermore, animal lawyer Victoria Shroff suggests that without robust funding and systemic changes, the issue of shelter supervision may persist regardless of new regulations.
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