SPCA coping with population explosion among St-Édouard Zoo animals in agency's care

More than 40 babies have been born to animals in the custody of the Montreal SPCA since an animal cruelty investigation led to the closure of the St-Édouard Zoo, the arrest of its owner and the seizure of the zoo's inhabitants last May.

Crown prosecutors involved in the case against zoo owner Normand Trahan will be back in court on Jan. 24, to seek permission for the SPCA to sterilize 64 of the 217 animals seized from Trahan's zoo last May.

A motion to proceed with the sterilization was brought before the court at a hearing in Trois-Rivières Thursday. In a news release Friday, the SPCA cited the need to "ensure good management of the population while maintaining social groups and therefore animal welfare."

Trahan was arrested last May 21, on charges of animal neglect and cruelty, following an investigation by the SPCA that began in 2018. If found guilty, the zoo owner could face up to five years in prison and a lifetime ban on owning an animal.

Death of Norm the lion leaves accused in tears

The court heard Thursday that 11 animals have died or gone missing since the seizure at the zoo in Saint-Édouard-de-Maskinongé, 120 kilometres northeast of Montreal,.

Among those deaths were a lion, a lynx, two alpacas, three goats, a zebu, an American mink, a fallow deer and a crow.

Trahan wept Thursday, talking about the death of the four-year-old lion, named Norm — an animal that he said was in very good health at the time of the seizure.

"An animal doesn't just die by itself," Trahan said. "This was a lion that was bottle-fed, that I played with until it was seven or eight months old.

"They were all felines that I raised with a bottle. They were all babies to me."

The SPCA said that the lion received emergency care from "the best zoological specialists in the province before succumbing to an intractable natural condition."

The agency also said that it's delivered inventories of the animals in its care to Trahan periodically since their seizure, including death and birth records. It said it sent Trahan the lion's medical file and necropsy report, as well as the photos and videos of the emergency procedures, on Nov 1.

Regardless, Trahan's lawyers, who sought to block the SPCA's access to the animals days after Trahan was charged last May 21, expressed concern about the deaths.  

"This confirms our fears that the SPCA took on an operation that is beyond its scope and that they would struggle with the consequences of their decision," said Michel Lebrun, Trahan's lawyer.

The Crown, however, defended the SPCA's treatment of the animals.

"The length of these legal proceedings necessarily means that some animals will be born and other animals will die, but the care provided is in accordance with veterinary practices," said Crown prosecutor Julien Beauchamp-Laliberté.

"This is precisely what is stated in the request that we submitted: that it is because of these veterinary practices, good practices of herd management, that sterilization is necessary."

The St-Édouard Zoo had a wide range of farm and wild animals such as wolves, alpacas, bears, lions, kangaroos and primates. 

The SPCA began investigating in 2018 following a visitor's complaint and later alleged animals didn't have access to proper food and water.