

Joshua Freeman, CP24.com





Marineland has filed a lawsuit against the Ontario SPCA, seeking a reported $21 million.

A spokesperson for the OSPCA confirmed the lawsuit was filed Tuesday, but would not provide details about the allegations or the amount involved.

However a report by local radio station Newstalk 610 cited the figure as $21 million.

“The Ontario SPCA vehemently denies all of the allegations and will defend itself,” the organization said in a brief statement on its website. “No further comment can be made at this time as the matter is being referred to counsel and is before the courts.”

In an email, Marineland said it does not presently have any information to provide about the lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes more than two months after animal cruelty charges against Marineland were dropped by prosecutors after they found there was no reasonable chance of conviction on most counts.

The charges followed an investigation by the OSPCA that began in 2016, but the Crown attorney assigned to the case found that the chance of prosecution was low because the evidence was “more circumstantial than direct.”

After the charges were dropped, Marineland issued a statement saying it had suffered “reputational damage” as a result of the charges.

-With files from The Canadian Press