A man who feared his pack of 16 wolf-dog hybrids would be euthanized says the animals will continue to live in an Ontario sanctuary after they are taken from him.
Bryton Bongard says he doesn’t have word on the exact location, but the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources told him the animals will be within driving distance of his home in Wahnapitae, Ont., about 50 kilometres north of Sudbury.
Bongard says authorities previously told him his grey and black wolf-dogs would be “disposed of” if no sanctuary could be found, spurring hundreds to sign a petition urging the province to save the animals.
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It is against the law to keep wildlife native to Ontario as pets or in captivity, with some exceptions for places like zoos and rehabilitation facilities.
Bongard confirms he pleaded guilty to keeping the wolf-dogs illegally on Monday and was fined $5,500, money that he says will go towards building a new enclosure large enough for the pack.
He says he was thrilled to learn his animals will stay alive after he was kept in the dark for months.
“I was very much pleased that they finally said what the plan was, like what’s going on,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday.
“Because this whole time it was basically like … they weren’t telling me nothing.”
Bongard, who is a butcher by trade, said he hopes to continue donating meat scraps to feed the wolf-dogs, and visit them as often as he can.
“We’re doing a lot better now,” he said.
“At least now at the end of the day, when they come for my dogs, I know they are going to be alive when they leave my property and I can go see them.”
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