A judge has ordered that WorkSafe BC hand over all information about the slaughter of 100 healthy sled dogs in Whistler to animal cruelty investigators.

The B.C. SPCA had obtained a court order for all WorkSafe BC files on last year's cull at Howling Dog Tours, but the compensation board sought an exemption, arguing that it couldn't release confidential records.

In Monday's decision, a North Vancouver provincial court judge gave WorkSafe BC seven days to hand over the majority of documents connected to a claim for post-traumatic stress disorder filed by the former manager of the tour company. Investigators will not, however, have access to the employee's medical records.

Outside the court, SPCA lawyer Chris Rhone told CTV News that he was happy with the decision.

"The court found that the investigation into the potential criminal acts outweighs the interest of the worker to be protected," he said. "I'm pleased with it."

The SPCA has said that the compensation board's documents will provide the foundation for its investigation into the slaughter.

Roberta Ellis, senior vice president of corporate affairs for WorkSafe BC, said that the board will comply with the court order.

She added that the court decision will help WorkSafe BC develop protocols for dealing with allegations of criminal activity outlined in compensation claims.

"We've never experienced something like this, so we have to look at the tests in law," Ellis said.

"But we hope, along with everyone else, that we won't see anything like this again."

The WorkSafe BC decision granting compensation to the worker was leaked to a Vancouver radio station, prompting an investigation into allegations that former Howling Dog Tours owner Robert Fawcett brutally killed the dogs before dumping their bodies into a mass grave on April 21 and 23, 2010.

That decision contained gruesome details of the cull, including stories of dogs that survived shots to the head and others that were killed with a knife.

A joint statement issued by Outdoor Adventures, which controls Howling Dog Tours, and Fawcett said the sled dogs were slaughtered because they were sick or old and not adoptable.

The statement also says that there had been "considerable" effort to get the dogs adopted, but "the efforts at adoption were not as successful as hoped."

With files from CTV British Columbia's Sarah Galashan