The provincial government’s refusal to pay expenses related to disaster work means the SPCA can’t help all the animals it once did, the not-for-profit agency’s manager of operations said Tuesday.

Bob Busch told The Daily News the B.C. government’s refusal to pay extraordinary expenses related to emergency care of animals during floods and wildfires is disappointing.

As a result, the SPCA has not been able to man emergency response centres this year or actively work with evacuated residents seeking help with their animals.

The SPCA continues to go into evacuated areas to rescue animals in distress that may have been left behind, Busch said.

However, the agency was forced to refuse requests to assist emergency officials at operations centres at Vernon, Kelowna and Williams Lake.

The government flatly refused to pay extra expenses after the 2009 wildfire season, when the SPCA submitted a bill worth roughly $30,000 for vehicle costs and overtime wages.

Busch said he fears what will happen if there is another big fire year like 2003, when the SPCA played a significant role helping thousands of evacuated homeowners deal with their animals.

“I don’t want to speculate what will happen,” he said.

The SPCA continues to lobby government for more funding, he said, but there seems little prospect for short-term improvement. The SPCA has even lost an annual $75,000 grant the B.C. government used to provide for cruelty investigations.

Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake said the SPCA was paid for its relief work in 2003 likely as a result of additional emergency funding made available by the provincial and federal governments.

“You can’t just submit a bill to government and expect to get paid without a program in place,” Lake said.

Regardless, Lake said he will look into the SPCA’s dilemma and see if there are ways to solve the problem before disaster strikes again.

Richard Carlson, a Paul Lake resident who sits on the SPCA’s community council, said the SPCA played a crucial role in 2003 when thousands were evacuated from their homes.

Then, there was not enough friends and neighbours to care for all the animals people took out of the evacuated areas. The SPCA looked after more than 2,000 animals.

He said he hopes the SPCA will be able to provide the kind of service it did in 2003 again, should the need arise.

“We need to be there if the people need us to be there,” he said.