Woman accused of trying to mail pets back in court

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on March 19, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A southern Alberta woman who was charged nearly three years ago and accused of trying to mail a puppy and a kitten through Canada Post, is set to be back in court later this month.
The matter for 56-year-old Jill Heather Marshall was addressed briefly this week in Lethbridge provincial court, but the case was simply adjourned to March 28 after the accused was represented by duty counsel.
Marshall is charged under the Animal Protection Act with causing an animal to be in distress, stemming from an investigation in the summer of 2019.
Vulcan County Enforcement Services reported that a post office employee in the village of Milo, about 130 kilometres north of Lethbridge, discovered a puppy and kitten inside a cardboard box.
The box had postage, a destination address, and the animals had stamps stuck to their heads. The following week, another box with a puppy inside was dropped off at the mail outlet. The animals were unharmed and taken to the Calgary Humane Society.
According to Canada Post’s website, live animals cannot be mailed unless there is an agreement with Canada Post before mailing. Bees, day-old chicks and hatching eggs, parasites, leeches and some other small cold-blooded animals can be mailed under certain conditions.
After several court appearances in Lethbridge, Marshall, a Vulcan County resident, pleaded not guilty in October of 2019, and a trial was set for May 28, 2020. The trial was adjourned, however, because of the COVID pandemic and subsequent court restrictions.
On March 9, 2021 a new trial was set for the following December, but Marshall never showed up for the trial and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

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