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April Irving to be sentenced in December in animal cruelty case

A southern Alberta woman who pleaded guilty to causing animals to be in distress will have to wait a couple more months to find out her fate.

April Irving was back in a Lethbridge courtroom Wednesday (Oct. 23) for what was expected to be her sentencing.

Irving pleaded guilty to four counts under Alberta’s Animal Protection Act this summer after dozens of dogs were seized from a property near Milk River a few years ago.

An agreed statement of facts says Irving had a total of 211 dogs seized from her in 2015, most of which were malnourished, injured and in extreme distress.

The Crown says it’s seeking over $15,000 in fines and a lifetime ban on having animals, however that ban would only apply in Alberta.

Irving’s defence lawyer, however is asking the judge to allow her to have one or two animals, noting a lifetime ban on having dogs would be like a life sentence for his client.

Under Alberta law, there is no jail time for anyone found guilty under the Animal Protection Act.

The judge is expected to hand down his decision in December.

Patrick Siedlecki
Patrick Siedlecki
Pat has been a mainstay in the CJOC News department from the time the station launched in 2007. He's been in the position of News Director since then and has been anchoring daily news casts as well as reporting and working behind the scenes. Community is important to him and keeping CJOC listeners and readers informed about what's happening across southern Alberta and beyond. Pat has been in radio broadcasting for the past 24 years, starting in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in 1997 and then moving up island to Nanaimo for another few years before heading to Lethbridge in 2007. Pat grew up in the small Saskatchewan farming town of Foam Lake. After high school, he went to Western Academy Broadcasting College (WABC) in Saskatoon prior to moving to the island. Pat also spent several years broadcasting hockey in the BCHL as well as seven years as the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Pat has been working at Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge as a Certified Life Celebrant and Funeral Assistant since 2016. News and sports have always been Pat's passion from the time he was a teenager and he's always been grateful to have had the opportunity to make that part of what's been a fun and long radio career!
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