For more than 120 years, the New Brunswick Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has worked to protect animals. It has promoted animal welfare, encouraged care and compassion, and worked to prevent cruelty, abuse, and abandonment of animals. It is a private charitable organization incorporated in New Brunswick, Canada.

If you want to report a case of cruelty and abuse, call the NBSPCA’s province-wide, toll-free phone number (1-877-722-1522). It’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The operators are fully bilingual. Reports are investigated by the Society’s Animal Protection Officers (APOs), who also assist the municipal police and RCMP on animal-related matters. Under the New Brunswick SPCA Act, APOs have the authority to seize animals, conduct investigations, and (in co-operation with other law enforcement agencies and the Crown Prosecutors Office bring charges under the SPCA Act and the Criminal Code of Canada. (For more, see Animal Protection.)

The NBSPCA is also responsible under provincial law for the mandatory inspecting and licensing of “pet establishments,” which includes breeding kennels for dogs. (For more, see Pet Establishment Licensing.) The NBSPCA has no authority over wildlife.

The NBSPCA provides dog control in the rural and unincorporated areas of the province and in the local service districts. The NBSPCA’s Rural Dog Constables derive their authority from the New Brunswick Municipalities Act. Complaints about stray or nuisance dogs in unincorporated areas should be phoned into 1-877-722-1522. See Rural Dog Control for more information about the dog control regulations, or how to purchase dog tags, or about what to do if you have lost a dog and think it may have been picked up by a rural dog constable. Note that the rural animal control service covers only dogs, not cats or other animals.

The NBSPCA also promotes humane education, advocates for all animals, works for stronger animal-protection laws, and co-operates with government agencies and other animal-welfare groups in the province and across Canada. We are members of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies. For more information about our work in these areas, see Media Centre, Publications, Newsletters and Brochures.

Members of the public frequently confuse the NBSPCA with the local SPCA chapters and their shelters. The NBSPCA is the umbrella-organization for the SPCA movement in the province. It encourages (and must consent to) the creation of local SPCA branch societies; there are ten. Most municipal and regional SPCA branches maintain animal shelters, where unwanted animals can be taken and held for adoption. The NBSPCA itself does not operate animal shelters or provide adoption services. Branch societies are represented on the board of directors of the NBSPCA and co-operate with the NBSPCA, but otherwise they operate largely independently of the provincial body. (For a list of New Brunswick SPCA branches and shelters, see Contacts.)

The NBSPCA is governed by its board of directors, which consists of the presidents of the branch societies; plus five board-members-at-large, elected by members of the NBSPCA at its annual general meeting; and its executive officers (President, Vice-President, Past-President, and Secretary-Treasurer). In addition to its uniformed Animal Protection Officers (many of whom serve part time), the Society employs an Executive Director and an Office Manager who, together with the Chief Animal Protection Officer, administer the work of the Society out of its main office in Fredericton. The NBSPCA operates with a budget of around $750,000 annually. Some of this revenue comes from the Society’s contract with the Government of New Brunswick for dog control in the rural areas of the Province. The rest comes from membership fees, charitable donations and trusts, and earnings from the Society’s endowment funds. To become a member of the NBSPCA, or for more information about volunteering or how to donate, see Ways to Give More information about the Society’s finances can be found in the Newsletters and in the reports of our annual general meetings.

Our current Board of Directors:

• Steve Turner (President)
• Christian Richard (Vice-President)
• John Harper (Secretary)
• Bevin Champion (Treasurer)
• Joy Bacon (Past-President)
• Hilary Howes (Executive Director)
• Carl MacAulay (Chief Animal Protection Officer)
• President, Charlotte County SPCA
• President, Fredericton SPCA
• President, Gloucester County SPCA
• President, Greater Moncton SPCA
• President, Miramichi SPCA
• President, Oromocto and Area SPCA
• President, Restigouche County SPCA
• President, Saint John SPCA/Animal Rescue
• President, SPCA-Péninsule Acadienne
• President, Valley SPCA la Vallée (Grand Falls)
• President’s Designate, Victoria County SPCA
• Brada Hale (Board Member at Large)
• Elizabeth Hale (co-opted Board Member)
• Poul Jorgensen (Board Member at Large)
• Ali Reid (Board Member at Large)
• Andrew Newell (Board Member at Large)
• Vanessa Packman (Board Member at Large)
• Charles Landry (Co-opted Board Member)

The bylaws of the New Brunswick SPCA are available upon request. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..