Motto THS Legal status active | Formation 1886 Headquarters Toronto, Ontario | |
Type Animal welfare organization in Canada Purpose advocate and public voice, educator and network | ||
The Toronto Humane Society is a Toronto charity that operates animal shelters and animal rescue operations. It was founded by crusading journalist John J. Kelso after he added the comment “Why don't we have a society for the prevention of cruelty?” to a November 1886 letter in the Toronto World about a horse in distressed condition. Subsequently, a total of $74 in donations was sent to the newspaper which was used by Kelso to found the Toronto Humane Society in 1887 as an organization dedicated to promote both children's aid and the humane treatment of animals. The Children's Aid Society ultimately became a distinct organization in 1891.
The THS was originally located at the intersection of Bay Street and what is now Wellesley Street in downtown Toronto. It is currently located on River Street.
Following an investigative report in The Globe and Mail, the THS was raided by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in November 2009 as part of an investigation into allegations of animal cruelty at the centre. THC president Tim Trow and several other society personnel, as well as the board of directors itself, were subsequently charged. A new board of directors was elected in late May 2010, and the shelter re-opened a month later after having been closed for seven months.
All charges against former board members and personnel were withdrawn in August 2010 due to problems with the search warrant under which the 2009 raid had been carried out. An article in the February 2011 edition of Toronto Life suggested that the root of the dispute was that the THS was trying to run its facility as a no-kill shelter, a policy which the OSPCA opposed.