A Vernon veterinary assistant who has always had a soft spot for animals is now working to create a safer life for her furry friends.
Camille Block is the founder of the Animal Abuse Defence Registry Society, a new online resource which can help keep animals out of harm’s way.
The registry provides instant results as to whether or not the person you’re adopting an animal to has been convicted of animal-cruelty related charges.
“I was concerned over how easy it for anyone to adopt an animal,” said Block, a creative director at Sproing Creative weekdays and vet assistant at Crescent Falls Veterinary Clinic on weekends.
“Most people and businesses have no idea about the background of the person they are adopting to.”
Which is where the idea of an animal abuse registry came from.
The registry, available at www.aadr.ca, gives breeders, clinics, farms, pet stores and individuals a place to search the name of an individual they are adopting to in order to ensure they have no criminal history of animal abuse.
“Right now, we are using sources such as Court Services Online, CanLII, calling various courts to confirm information, and so on to manually enter each convicted individual,” said the 23-year-old orginally from Alberta.
But she’s hoping to work together with the strategic information and business applications department of the Ministry of Justice over the course of the next few months to automate that part of the process.
In the meantime, Block is trying to collect support for the non-profit through a Kickstarter campaign at www.kickstarter.com/projects/1923880647/animal-abuse-defense-registry.
“With the help of local businesses, we’re now at the funding stage and would love the support of the community to help make it all happen,” said Block.
Through Kickstarter, the project will only be funded if at least $8,000 is pledged by Sept. 20.
But Block is confident the cause is worthy.
“At the Animal Abuse Defence Registry, we believe that every animal deserves a safe home.”
The site is currently accepting registrations for the closed data for users in B.C., while the goal for release of the full version for public use is dependant on how much funding is received. But the goal is late 2013.
