Investigators with the B.C. SPCA are looking into the possibility that a second person was involved in the gruesome slaughter of 100 healthy sled dogs last year.
Marcia Moriarty, general manager for SPCA cruelty investigations, said that investigators learned that Bob Fawcett may have had help in the massacre through postings made in an online forum
"That will obviously be something that our constables will be investigating," Moriarty told ctvbc.ca.
"We look into everything -- every piece of evidence that has been provided,"
In a Jan. 6 post on a forum about post-traumatic stress disorder, a commenter calling himself Bob Fawcett describes how he shot dozens of dogs after being told to take "drastic action" to reduce the herd.
"So I [told] my manager take a truck to the bottom of the road so no one could come up and gave him a radio in case I shot myself," the commenter wrote.
A man named Bob Fawcett is the former general manager of Howling Dog Tours in Whistler.
Outdoor Adventures Whistler, which owns Howling Dog Tours, is conducting its own review of the dog cull, but a media representative said the company is not commenting on how many employees are under investigation.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Peter Thiessen wouldn't comment on how many people are being investigated by police, but said, "We're involved in multiple criminal investigations around the actual death of these dogs and the threats surrounding this incident."
Thiessen said police are investigating a growing number of threats directed against people connected to Outdoor Adventures Whistler and Howling Dog Tours, and are urging patience while the investigation is underway.
He said investigators understood the allegations have touched a nerve in the community – and across the country – but "no one has the right to threaten to harm or kill someone they suspect could have been responsible or involved."
The threats, some described as "very graphic," have been made face-to-face, by phone and through social media websites.
"This has resulted in significant trauma and stress for Outdoor Adventures and all their staff. That's unacceptable. And it needs to stop immediately," Sgt. Thiessen said.
Case heads to court
SPCA officials will be heading to court on Friday in a bid to get WorkSafe BC to hand over documents filed by Fawcett in his claim for compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder; compensation was awarded on appeal.
Moriarty says that those documents will provide the foundation for the SPCA's evidence in the case, but WorkSafe BC has filed an application to withhold some -- if not all -- of those documents.
"There is a fear that in future, people will not give full disclosure for fear of potential future criminal prosecution," Moriarty said.
WorkSafe BC spokeswoman Donna Freeman said the application is just a routine procedure.
"Our application to the court is simply seeking clarification on the scope of the order," she said.
"Whatever the judge orders, we will produce."
The compensation board says its mandate is to provide a safe and healthy workplace for all workers. However, officials will notify police if a worker is threatening to harm themselves or other people.
But Moriarty says that policy doesn't go far enough.
"I didn't realize we were in the business of compensating people for stress or injury when they've committed a crime," she said.
