Press release — for immediate release
Expédition Mi-Loup:
The Montreal SPCA reacts to the Sentence
Montreal, May 2nd, 2025 — The Montreal SPCA is pleased with the decision handed down this morning at the Quebec City courthouse, sentencing Antoine Simard, the former owner of the Expedition Mi-Loup sled dog kennel, who was convicted of animal cruelty and neglect last June. Mr. Simard was sentenced to 23 months in prison.
“The sentence handed down this morning is the highest sentence ever imposed in Quebec for animal cruelty,” emphasizes Sophie Gaillard, Director of Animal Advocacy and Legal and Government Affairs at the Montreal SPCA. “In its decision, the Court of Québec characterized Simard’s actions as unacceptable and indicative of a high degree of cruelty towards sentient beings. The Court recognized the importance of denouncing animal cruelty as a serious offense, whereas this crime has historically been considered one of lesser seriousness by Quebec courts. For almost a decade now, we have been seeing significant prison sentences imposed for serious cases of animal cruelty elsewhere across the country. Until now, Quebec was the exception.”
Summary of the Expédition Mi-Loup case
Last June, Antoine Simard was found guilty of the three charges he was facing for wilfully killing, maiming or injuring dogs, wilfully causing unnecessary suffering to animals, and neglecting to provide adequate care to animals. The charges relate to approximately 1,000 sled dogs that suffered abuse at the hands of Simard, or under his orders, over a period of more than 10 years. According to the many former employees of the business who testified during the trial, the dogs were given no veterinary care when they were sick or injured, and were killed in particularly brutal ways, including by being hanged, asphyxiated in an improvised gas chamber or placed alive in a freezer.
A poorly regulated industry
Beyond the acts of animal cruelty at issue, the trial also highlighted the egregious lack of animal welfare oversight in Quebec’s sled dog industry. That is why, in November 2024, the Montreal SPCA launched a petition calling on the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) to put in place specific regulations for this sector, in order to protect the thousands of dogs who are used by it. The petition has since garnered over 25,000 signatures.
“Now that the trial of Expédition Mi-Loup is over, the Quebec government must act without further delay to ensure that no case like this ever happens again in this province,” urges Ms. Gaillard.
For more information about the Montreal SPCA’s recommendations, click here.
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Source: Montreal SPCA www.spca.com/en/
Media information:
Tök communications 514-247-0526
Marie-Hélène Avon, mariehelene@tokcommunications.ca
About the Montreal SPCA
Founded in Montreal in 1869, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (now known simply as the Montreal SPCA) was the first animal welfare organization in Canada. The SPCA has come a long way since: it is now the largest animal welfare organization in Quebec and speaks on behalf of animals wherever they face ignorance, cruelty, exploitation or neglect.
