The Saskatchewan RCMP is investigating after a kitten became the centre of a large controversy at the Craven Country Jamboree.
The RCMP found an injured kitten at a Craven campsite after receiving a report of animal abuse.
“Our members dealt with a young kitten that was abused and is now in the care of a local vet,” RCMP Insp. Ted Munro said Sunday morning. “The individual responsible for that has been evicted from the campsite and it’s been an ongoing investigation in regards to charges.”
“This is not something that we would ever support,” Kim Blevins, director of marketing for the Craven Country Jamboree, said Sunday. “We love animals, we love pets and we know that 99.95 per cent of our fans love animals as well.”
The kitten was taken to the TM’z Veterinary Clinic in Lumsden.
The clinic took to social media on Saturday, saying the animal was suffering from burns.
The clinic updated the kitten’s status early Sunday morning, saying the kitten is doing well and has been named Jamboree.
Craven organizers did express concerns about the clinic’s post, saying it was “blown a little bit out of proportion.”
“It’s really unfortunate that the vet decided to post that without even taking the time to have a conversation with us,” Blevins said. “This could have been very easily dealt with between the vet and the festival.”
Craven posted this update on Facebook Sunday afternoon.
Craven's Facebook page also said they will be discussing payment options with the vet clinic after the show wraps up and that one of their senior staff members is interested in adopting the kitten.
“I don’t think you can put a proportion on it,” Dr. Tanya Marshall from TM’z Veterinary clinic said. “The kitten didn’t have a choice in this matter and was put in (a) situation it should never have been put in in the first place.”
A man is currently being investigated under the criminal code and Animal Protection Act.
With files from CTV Regina's Jessie Anton
