Charges have been stayed against a former Edmonton pet store owner accused of abandonment and leaving animals in distress.

Minchaw Menan Tom of Sherwood Park was charged last summer after the Edmonton Humane Society seized hundreds of animals in February 2018 from a My Pet store in West Edmonton Mall.

The charges were laid under the Animal Protection Act.

On Wednesday, Alberta Justice confirmed that the Crown prosecutor entered a stay of proceedings on May 9 because a conviction in the case was unlikely.

"The humane society is certainly disappointed to learn that the charge of abandonment was stayed," said Kylie Adams, a spokesperson for the organization.

"It was certainly a unique and complex case due to its size and the nature of it, and had it moved forward before the courts we would have hoped that it had set a precedent for similar cases of animal abandonment."

The society seized hundreds of animals from the store including dogs, cats, rabbits, lizards, snakes, frogs, crabs, birds and fish. Most of the animals were adopted at an event hosted by the humane society. Most were adopted out at an event a month later.

The pet store shut its doors after charges were laid last August.

Adams said despite the stay, it was still worthwhile for members of the public to speak up about their concerns so the animals could be removed from a potentially distressing situation.

"We understand that there could be disappointment, and certainly we feel that too with the case not moving forward," she said.

"But in any animal protection case, our priority is making sure that the animals involved are safe and that steps are taken to ensure a similar situation is prevented from happening again.

"In this case we wouldn't have been able to remove the animals from this situation had the public not come forward with their concerns."