Ontario’s Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) has apprehended and removed 165 animals from a local animal sanctuary.
Animal Welfare and police vehicles inundated Shannon Road in Plainfield, north of Belleville, on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, as officers removed 165 animals from Kamp Kiki Animal Sanctuary. Witnesses said the animals apprehended included pigs, horses, goats, dogs and cats. However, Kamp Kiki’s Facebook page also shows other types of animals, including bird fowl, rodents, and even a porcupine.
Reached for official comment, Ministry of the Solicitor General spokesperson Brent Ross confirmed on behalf of PAWS that “all 165 animals were removed from the premises” on February 20.
Kamp Kiki’s Facebook page, which was created in 2017, describes it as a “non-profit organization” and a place “where all wayward, lost and unwanted critters have a safe place to live forever and be lovingly cared for.”
The sanctuary has apparently been in urgent need of financial assistance since spring of last year. On April 17, 2024, a group of supporters began a fundraiser for Kamp Kiki on the crowdfunding website GoFundMe, explaining that owner/operator Kris Uens was facing an “imminent threat” of losing the 100-acre farm “due to unforeseen financial difficulties and legal challenges.” That fundraiser has since earned over $31,000 through 382 donations.
In a video on the GoFundMe page, Uens explained that she had been given an eviction notice on April 4, 2024: “The sheriff has been here… Don’t get me wrong, the sheriff is the sweetest man. He’s just the sweetest man. He actually gave me $50 towards feed for the animals. It’s not his fault. It’s his job. I wouldn’t want to do it.”
“They’re giving me a hard time for getting the remortgage, and it’s all because of the animals, and it’s a farm, it’s not clean, it’s not tidy,” she continued in the video. “We need some help. We need some money. We need to back them off for a while. And the sheriff said today that they even have a plan to… destroy the animals, which is not cool because these animals are all here because nobody else wants them. They have no place else to go.”
While the animals were gathered and removed from the site by enforcement officers, Uens was comforted by a friend who sat with her in a vehicle on the road just outside the property’s front gate. “It’s just a witch hunt,” Uens said, explaining that the sanctuary included “all kinds of animals” and blaming unidentified persons for disliking what she was doing. She indicated that she would have more to say later when she had a chance to calm down.
Subsequent inquiries to Uens went unreturned, except for her saying she was consulting with a lawyer and would have more to say after those conversations.
During the apprehension, a neighbour of the farm who wished to remain anonymous said, “I believe they probably love the animals very much. As an animal lover, I can see the struggle to help animals and being unable to say ‘no’ to taking in animals in need, especially when you’ve created a sanctuary to help animals.”
“It’s unfortunate that the animals are being taken, and I’m sure it’s very hard for them,” the person continued — noting, however, that neighbours have complained that animals from the sanctuary often explore the neighbourhood. They say they have encountered pigs and dogs on the road and in their yards, causing them to fear for the safety of the animals and the small children in the neighbourhood. “You never know with strange animals if they are dangerous.”
In response to questions about what would happen to the animals, Ross of the Solicitor General’s office explained, “The animals have already been placed in care to ensure their well-being, [and] there are no plans to euthanize any of the animals.”
“Given the ongoing investigation, no further detail can be provided,” he said.
Kingstonist will follow the investigation as it continues.
