Amidst multiple court cases, the Humane Society Yukon (HSY) has been forced to lay off four employees.

It has also postponed its annual general meeting (AGM) and is having nearly $40,000 in funding withheld by the Yukon government.

The Mae Bachur Animal Shelter, which the society runs, is full of animals and doesn't have enough money nor space to take care of more animals, acting president Shelley Cuthbert said in a statement Monday.

"As a not-for-profit business, decisions have to be made all the time. It was necessary to lay off four casual staff at this time to decrease expenses,” Cuthbert said.

A legal hearing in Yukon Supreme Court, originally scheduled for today, has now been postponed until December.

The Supreme Court case revolves around a report by the territory's registrar of societies earlier this year.

It found the society lacked the appropriate financial records and was banning members from the Tlingit Street shelter without cause.

Registrar Fred Pretorius also ordered an annual general meeting be held and a new board elected.

Not long after the orders were issued, the humane society said it was planning on seeking a jurisdictional review in Supreme Court.

No application for judicial review has been filed, the registrar says in court documents.

Instead, the registrar has also gone to Yukon Supreme Court, asking a judge to enforce his rulings.

On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower decided to delay the society's AGM, which was originally scheduled for the coming Friday.

"The idea was to have that hearing before the AGM,” Tom Ullyett, assistant deputy minister, legal services explained Monday.

"Now that the hearing has been postponed, the AGM also needed to be postponed.”

It will be up to the court to set a new date for the AGM, Ullyett said.

Charges have also been laid in in territorial court against board members.

In court today, all five board members pleaded not guilty.

They will appear in court next month to set a date for trial. In her statement, Cuthbert insists the shelter is not closed and will have to wait for spaces to free up before it can accept more animals.

"HSY and staff have not wasted money on anything, as it has all gone to the care of the animals and the maintenance of the building,” she said.

Costs for the case involving the registrar are covered by insurance.

Costs for a second legal fight over the construction of a cat trailer are coming from the government, as it paid for half of the trailer, she said.

One person has been donating to the society specifically to help cover legal costs.

It costs approximately $450,000 annually to run the shelter, Cuthbert said.

Among those costs are $20,000 a month in staff wages, $4,000 a month in building utilities and $5,000 a month in vet care bills.

"This runs the shelter operating total to a base amount of $29,000 per month before any other miscellaneous costs,” the statement said.

"Our base funding is only $79,000 per year, and the rest is raised on bingos, fund-raising and adoptions.

"The shelter also has several special needs animals in foster care that HSY has been paying for.”

However, half of that $79,000 is currently being withheld by the government.

It's common practice for organizations to receive half of approved government funding at the beginning of the year and half in the fall, Matt King, a spokesperson for the Department of Community Services, said today.

"But we can't advance money to an organization that is not in good standing.”

Once the humane society straightens out the registrar's concerns and complies with any orders that may come from the court, it should be able to receive the money, King said.

The shelter opened 14 years ago this month.