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CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Volunteers hit roadblock in push for social media pages for city-run animal shelter
Volunteers at a city-run animal shelter on the east side of Vancouver say bureaucracy is preventing them from taking action they feel could lead to more frequent and faster animal adoptions. Erin Ireland has been volunteering at the Vancouver Animal Shelter for several months. She knows rescue dogs – and she knows social media – frequently sharing pictures and videos of her own three adopted dogs with her 200,000 Instagram followers. She wants to start dedicated social media pages to promote the adoptable dogs at VAS. 'These dogs don't have to sit there in the shelter for so long,' Ireland said. 'There are people who are looking to adopt dogs, but nobody knows that these dogs are there.' Ireland and other volunteers supporting the idea have hit a roadblock. The city won't allow them to create dedicated social media pages for the shelter. They say there are also strict rules for approval before they can share pictures or videos of the animals on their personal social media pages. 'Every other city in the Lower Mainland that I'm aware of has a dedicated, separate page for their city shelters,' said Meghan Forhan, a lawyer advising the volunteers. 'Vancouver is an outlier here and that is a concern to the staff and to the volunteer members.' The city would not allow CTV News access to the shelter and did not provide anyone for an interview. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson said, 'the city only permits trained staff to establish, grow and maintain city social media channels.' Coun. Pete Fry adopted a dog named Ruby from VAS several years ago. Ruby has since passed, but Fry maintains an admiration for VAS and the work of staff and volunteers at the shelter. 'Social media posts about adoptable dogs are very different from daily city business, and I think that's the point a lot of the volunteers at the Vancouver Animal Shelter are trying to highlight,' he said while offering his support for the volunteers. The city said it has agreed to post about adoptable animals at VAS twice per month on its corporate Facebook page. Volunteers see that as a good start but feel they could reach many more potential adopters with dedicated VAS pages. 'The main reason I became a volunteer was actually to showcase the dogs because I do have a larger Instagram following,' said Ireland. 'And I feel like the best thing I can do for the dogs is share them and get them more visibility.'
Global News
07-05-2025
- General
- Global News
Pets languishing in Vancouver shelter due to no-social media policy, volunteer says
A volunteer with the Vancouver Animal Shelter claims pets are waiting longer than necessary for their forever homes because the city of Vancouver is not utilizing the free and wide-ranging reach of social media platforms to showcase its adoptable animals. As of Tuesday, 11 pets, including six dogs, several guinea pigs, rabbits and gerbils, were up for adoption on the city's website which has links to an 'available pets' page. 'We have dogs that are sitting for eight, nine, 10 months,' said volunteer Rhianydd Bellis. 'There (are) animals that have been inside for over a year at this point.' 1:18 Global Okanagan Adopt A Pet: Wilbur & Templeton Bellis has written to the city's mayor and council, asking that they allow Vancouver Animal Shelter (VAS) to set up its own Facebook and Instagram accounts like other Metro Vancouver municipalities have done for similar animal facilities. Story continues below advertisement 'In my view, the city of Vancouver is prioritizing its brand over the visibility of its animals,' Bellis told Global News in an interview. The volunteer said many in the community are not even aware that VAS exists. 'Vancouver is the outlier here; every single municipal shelter in Metro Vancouver has a very successful social media presence,' said Bellis. Surrey, Langley and New Westminster all have dedicated Facebook and Instagram pages to highlight their adoptable animals. In a May 1 Facebook post, Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) said social media enabled it to reach over 1.4 million views in April alone. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Every single view, like, comment, and share means more eyes on vulnerable animals, more chances for them to be seen, supported, and adopted,' read the LAPS post. The online visibility, LAPS said, means more forever homes found, more medical care funded and 'more love and hope for those who need it most.' 'You're not just following us — you're saving lives. You're not just sharing a post – you're giving an animal a second chance,' stated the LAPS post. 0:47 Global Okanagan Adopt A Pet: Grain of Sand In Vancouver, potential pet parents must navigate several links on the city's website before being directed to a page featuring adoptable animals. Story continues below advertisement 'It's very clear that this centralized social media policy is undermining the city's ability to get its animals seen,' said Bellis. Coun. Pete Fry with the Green Party found his previous dog Ruby at VAS, which he said he only knew about as a resident of the Strathcona neighbourhood. View image in full screen Pete Fry and his dog Ruby. Submitted 'When I adopted her she'd been there nine months, she'd been adopted twice and returned twice,' Fry told Global News in a Tuesday interview. 'She was kind of a hard-luck case, she turned out to be an amazing dog though.' Fry agrees that a social media presence is needed to expedite pet adoptions and blames slow-moving bureaucracy and red tape for the city's current position. The City of Vancouver recently featured an adoptable dog bio on its Facebook page, and Fry said the April 10 post ended up being one of the most popular it has ever had. Story continues below advertisement 'I really do appreciate the volunteers who are strenuously advocating to make us move faster on this,' said Fry. 'At the end of the day, it's about fantastic dogs who are languishing in doggie jail, and honestly, they don't thrive in the pound necessarily.' On Monday and in advance of this story, Global News asked for access inside the taxpayer-funded VAS to film the adoptable pets, but the City of Vancouver denied our request, claiming visits require prior permission and are 'by appointment only.' The City of Vancouver also did not make anyone available for an interview on why its animal shelter has no social media channels, although an official spokesperson noted, 'Last August, Global News has featured some adoptable animals on the morning show which was greatly appreciated and impactful. We would be happy to do something similar when a spokesperson is available.' The city also issued a statement which did not directly answer questions from Global News. 'The City of Vancouver is deeply appreciative of the efforts of staff and volunteers involved with the care of animals at the City's animal shelter and shares the goal of spreading the word about adoptable animals in Vancouver,' it said. 'The City's social media channels are run by staff to ensure cohesion with our overarching social media strategy and industry and accessibility standards, along with allowing for community management support. Some smaller legacy accounts are still in use from a time when today's social media practices were not in effect.' Story continues below advertisement It added that 'work is underway to meet with staff and volunteers to better understand everyone's perspectives and explore a thoughtful, collaborative approach.' Bellis said she's been surprised by the amount of resistance and stonewalling she's encountered from the City of Vancouver on what she considers to be a no-brainer. 'It's very heartbreaking, and for me it's been extremely frustrating because the solution is so easy,' said Bellis.
