A South Shore fur farmer has been convicted on three charges of animal cruelty — the first conviction of its kind in Canada.
Following a number of complaints, the Montreal SPCA launched an investigation into Jean-Luc Rodier's farm in the community of St. Jude, northeast of St. Hyacinthe. At the time, the animal welfare agency used words like "deplorable" and "hell on earth" in describing the conditions in which the foxes on his farm were living.
Several of the foxes required immediate euthanization.
Sophie Gaillard, a lawyer with the SPCA, says the organization is satisfied with the verdict, but adds it doesn't go far enough toward eliminating cruelty from the fur industry as a whole.
“The bigger picture is, this inherently cruel fur industry,” she said. “These criminal prosecutions, they get just the very worst of what can happen on a fur farm but they don’t get the standard industry practices which are keeping wild animals in completely despicable conditions, deprived of any ability to express their natural behaviours. Unfortunately, all that is completely legal.”
She says even at the best of times, the animals are kept in small wire cages for their entire lives, only to die by gassing or electrocution.
Rodier was fined $5,000 and will have to perform 75 hours of community service. He's also been banned from owning any animals other than mink for the next 15 years. If he does continue raising mink, he will be required to submit them to veterinary inspection.