Montreal police were called to investigate a grisly discovery at Préfontaine Park in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough Thursday morning.
An animal carcass was found, skinned and beheaded in a playground, propped in one of the swings intended for young children. André Leclerc, with the Montreal police, said the body appeared to be that of “a raccoon that has been mistreated.”
Leclerc confirmed that the police were called before 7 a.m. and investigators were dispatched to the scene.
“Hopefully we may get enough information to meet and identify a suspect in this event,” he said.
This particularly harrowing case highlights why animal cruelty cases need to be taken seriously, said Alanna Devine, the director of of animal advocacy at Montreal’s SPCA.
“It certainly shows the sort of link we often hear spoken about between violence against animals and violence against humans,” Devine said. “Very often people who perpetuate crimes against animals go on to commit crimes against humans.”
But fighting animal cruelty is like “putting a finger in a dam that’s just about to explode full of cracks,” said Monica Campo, an animal advocate who used to run a cat shelter. She said that she was “borderline treated like a nutcase” when she brought a case of animal abuse to the police.
“When people are abusing, attacking, torturing animals, it’s like — well, eventually, sometimes, maybe, perhaps (the police) will do something,” she said.
Devine said they have worked very constructively with police in the past, and offer assistance when officers request help in dealing with animal abuse. But in this particular case with the raccoon, she said, there is a “giant loophole in our Criminal Code” that may make prosecution difficult.
“One of the problems is that wild animals have much less protection than animals with owners,” Devine said. “So in a case like this, even if let’s say a suspect was found, if a coroner’s report said that the racoon was (killed immediately without demonstrable suffering) it’s possible that they wouldn’t be able to lay charges.”
In other words, only pets get protection “killing, maiming and wounding” under the Criminal Code, said Devine. An amendment was proposed in Parliament as Bill C-246, but has not become law.
“The images (of the racoon) were gruesome for anybody to see,” said Devine. “But the unfortunate reality of our job (at the SPCA) is that we do see pretty horrific stuff on a day to day basis.”
