Values in Conflict: Reflections of an Animal Advocate offers an account of changing and conflicting social values regarding man's role in the natural world. Author Georges Dupras compels us to think about man's role in animal suffering and leads us to the inescapable conclusion that we must speak and act for those who have no voice. Dupras presents a pragmatic approach to peaceful coexistence with nonhuman species, without sacrificing idealism. The humane field has developed from a nonprofit mission to a profession over the past forty years addressing questions, comments, and issues that are foremost in the minds of the general public. While highlighting opposing social values, Dupras encourages those who feel marginalized due to their lack of professional training and offers advice to help them find their right path. Dupras also chronicles the evolution of the animal rights movement, one that uniquely transcends differences among species. This thorough review and reflection on both Dupras's personal experiences and of animal advocacy in general seeks to address questions, comments, and issues that are foremost in the minds of the general public, in hopes that future generations will recognize animals for their intrinsic value, equal in their own rights.

VALUES IN CONFLICT

By Georges R. Dupras

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Georges R. Dupras
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-5385-8

Contents

Foreword................................................xviiPrologue................................................xixHow It Began............................................1A New Direction.........................................19Anticruelty Laws........................................28Fur and the Fur Industry................................34Terrorism...............................................44Seals and Sealing.......................................51Fisheries and Oceans....................................76Sustainable Development.................................88Animal Rights...........................................95Research................................................104Hunting and Fishing.....................................113Cultural Differences....................................133Displays and Entertainment..............................143Re-Homing animals.......................................164Bearzzz and More........................................173Food Industry...........................................217Carriage Horse Trade, Montréal.....................239Puppy Mills.............................................244Media...................................................250Surreal and Other Experiences...........................254Who Am I?...............................................275A Horse Named Coco......................................288Epilogue................................................295Conclusion..............................................297Acknowledgements........................................299Organizations...........................................301

Chapter One

How It Began

Introduction

I was born in Québec City in 1949, and my formal education, such as it was, was divided between French and English school boards in Montréal, where I still reside. My schooling occurred during the waning years of the Catholic Church's influence on French Québec. This secular change became known as the "Silent Revolution" and was ushered in by the late Jean Lesage, then Premier of Québec. The Catholic Church, then as today, had little recognition for animals. Among my earliest family recollections were those of the many animals with whom we shared our lives. The concept of responsibility and love for animals was an integral part of my upbringing from a very early age.

My teen years were the worst period of my life, and though thankfully drugs and alcohol were not an issue, purpose and self-esteem were. In 1966 I happened to meet someone who, through his example, helped me develop the self-confidence and meaning that I lacked. Was this meeting fortuitous or the result of some design? I sometimes wonder!

For over forty-four years I have worked in many areas of the animal protection field. To that end I have lobbied governments, both at home and abroad, including the European Parliament; attended workshops and international conferences; taken part in discussions with a Senate Committee; presented a brief to the Royal Commission on Seals and the Sealing Industry in Canada; and defended my views in both English and French media outlets. At age thirty, while attending a conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, I became a vegetarian.

I was a board member of the Canadian SPCA during the late seventies and early eighties. I am presently a member of the International Association for Bear Research and Management, a bear specialist group (IBA), and a director of the Animal Alliance of Canada (AAC). I have hands-on experience with bears, and I've completed field courses on black bear conservation and behaviour. I was introduced to the Alaskan brown bear by Dr. Lynn Rogers at Halo Bay in Alaska and have since learned much about the species. Over the past four decades I have been involved with a wide variety of animals ranging from mice to moose. These include issues in agriculture, aquaculture, aquariums, culture, entertainment, the pet industry, ranching, research, and traditional medicines as well as sports and zoos.

The Catalyst

There was obviously a beginning, a catalyst, something that went well beyond merely being kind to animals. While many people are kind to domesticated animals, such as dogs and cats, most other people are barely tolerant. Animals are included in the household for a variety of "wrong reasons": status, protection, meeting the demands of children.

I've lost count of the number of people I've known personally who fit into the image category. This not only applies to domesticated animals, but to horses and wild or exotic species, which are frequently acquired for purposes of self-fulfillment. I've always wondered why you see individuals parading around the city centre with an exotic animal on a lead. Do these people lack some kind of self-esteem? Why the insistence on purebreds? After all, few of us are directly related to royalty, and who wants to be anyway!

At an early age I rationalized eating meat and wearing leather while professing love for my cat or dog. Living in a meat-centered society made it easy, or almost easy. The real-life horror that animals face behind well-guarded institutional doors was as foreign to me as my understanding of quantum physics. I admit to having a suppressed suspicion, but it never went beyond that. What prompted my commitment to defend the interest of animals, irrespective of their species, was an article regarding the East Coast seal hunt that appeared in the now defunct Weekend magazine. In my opinion, this singular issue changed the humane world forever. It certainly changed me, but more on that later.

My Family

My father was a not-so-typical French Canadian, born and raised in Outremont, Québec, and educated at Querbes Academy and Le Collège Mont St-Louis. As a boy, he raised bantam cocks in his father's basement on Durocher Street; he would lie on his back in the garden and allow the bantams to take grain from his lips while the neighbours watched. He often spoke of his pet Boston bull, Bozo, with whom he had spent many hours as a boy. Though he would never admit it publicly, he is quite sensitive when it comes to the care and well-being of animals and never flinched when we brought home a variety of sick or injured birds and rodents.

My mother, of English and Scottish parentage, gave the opposite impression. She was the typical straight-laced, no-nonsense mother who gave the appearance of always being in control. No one would suspect her of being anything but pragmatic on all matters, but appearances can be deceiving. When it came to those in trouble, human or animal, she was always front and centre.

The family mantra, if I can call it that, could best be described in three words: responsibility, service, and image. The last one was always an irritant to my sisters and to me. My parents, it seemed, were obsessed with image.

I always felt that the family hierarchy was well defined. There were of course mother and father at the top, followed by Joanna and Thea, the dog, the cats, the horses, assorted rodents, and finally geOOOOrges with a small g.

One recollection burned into my memory was a comment my mother made on a particularly cold, windy, and miserable January evening. She said, "I wouldn't put a dog out on a night like tonight," and without skipping a beat added, "geOOOOrges, I need cigarettes at the...