The City of Edmonton has pleaded guilty to a charge under the Animal Protection Act that was issued after three feral cats died while in the city’s care in 2018.

Charges laid against four city employees were dropped.

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The charges were laid by the Alberta SPCA after feral cats were transported from the city’s Animal Care & Control Centre to another facility on May 18, 2018. The move was being made as part of a pilot program to provide homes for feral cats. Three of the animals died within one day of being moved, the city said.

During a news conference last fall, the city said it was unsure exactly why the animals died, but that the deaths happened as part of the relocation.

Two of the cats were found dead once the three arrived at the new facility, the third died within one day.

“As an organization we accept full responsibility for this incident and we are seeking ways to strengthen and improve procedures and guidelines related to the feral cat re-homing program that was suspended in 2018,” David Aitken, branch manager of Community Standards and Neighbourhoods said in a news release on Monday.

The pilot project — named the Blue Collar Cat Pilot Program — was launched in March 2018 in an attempt to find homes for feral cats that had been brought to the ACCC. After medical attention that included being spayed or neutered, the cats were moved to other city buildings with warehouses or storage yards. The idea was the cats could work as “mousers” at city facilities while receiving water, food and shelter.

The project was put on hold after the cats died in 2018 and an internal review was launched. The city said it hopes to have the program back up and running by the end of 2019, after measures from the review have been put into place.

The city entered the guilty plea on Monday and was fined $1,000 for causing an animal to be in distress.

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