ANIMAL CRUELTY: ZERO TOLERANCE As I write these lines, I am fuming… with rage, indignation and impatience. I learned on the news that one hundred foxes and 10 000 minks were in distress on a fur farm in Montérégie. Last May, the Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) visited the farm after obtaining a warrant following a complaint. SPCA director, Alanna Devine, was horrified by what she discovered. Animals crammed in electrified cages with no hard bottoms, packed with feces. Emaciated animals with no access to water, broken toes, scraped tails, fractured teeth, missing eyes, infected ears and eyes, internal bleeding and neurological problems. A real nightmare! To my despair, the ordeal of these poor creatures continues. Who is responsible? I am pointing fingers. 1- This sad discovery was made in May, but it took until mid-July for the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks inspectors to visit the farm. No immediate outcome. Our government is at a standstill. At the beginning of August, they seized 16 arctic foxes illegally detained and euthanized 4 red foxes and 1 mink. Dr. Seguin, the Ministry vet explains: “The Ministry’s approach is a little different from the SPCA’s. We prefer to keep the animals where they are for the moment. The Ministry wants to give the owner the chance to conform to the requirements, including the adequate access to water and food. ˮ 2- Another person to blame in this case: Jean-Luc Rodier, who seems to collaborate so well with the inspectors who visit the farm regularly. Well, I would have thought that our farmer already had his chance in 1996 when he was accused of 262 acts of cruelty and negligence against animals and found guilty of 32 charges of negligence. In my opinion, he deserves to spend some time in a cage without water, food and litter! After so many years of experience, he should know that the only way to harvest quality fur is to take good care of the animals. Torturers like him do not deserve any more chances. I’ve got news for you. According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, if one was going to set out to abuse animals, Jean-Luc Rodier could hardly have chosen a better province to pursue his aims. Quebec and Nunavut have the worst animal protection laws in Canada. While a number of countries in the world forbid fur farming, in most cases, Quebec producers do not even need a permit and there is no record of fur farmers in the province. The minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, Laurent Lessard is promising to clean up our bad reputation. He is working with the minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Agriculture, Pierre Paradis, to reform the Civil Code in a way that cats, dogs and other animals would no longer be considered as “personal propertyˮ, but as living, “sentientˮ creatures. The pain and suffering inflicted on an animal would weigh heavily in the legal balance. Mr. Lessard stated: “Its among my legislative priorities. ˮ As long as the new legislation is implemented before the last of the Saint-Jude farm’s minks takes its last breath. 3- Ironically, the last culprits on my list should be the first to be blamed in such tragedies: the fur lovers who proudly adorn themselves with animal carcasses. Fur animals are bred, gassed or electrocuted, then, skinned for… theses fashion fanatics. The Fur Council of Canada stressed repeatedly that the farm in question is an exception and not the rule. Yeah, right. Maybe our ancestors, the fur trappers, evoke a nostalgia that stops us from forgetting about this clothing tradition. In this day and age of global warming, who needs fur anyway? At the end of the day, the equation is simple: no fur buyers = no fur farming. Georges Laraque You want things to move forward? Ask for the closure of the Saint-Jude’s fur farm by signing the following petition: https://causes/actions/1772494-sign-the-petition-to-minister-lessard-mffp/
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 18:53:37 +0000
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