I finally find the person in charge (or rather, he finds me). He explains to me that the nearby building was formerly used for auctions, but is now being used as a stop for animals in transport. When being loaded off the transport truck that morning,, around 6:30 am, the cow had difficulty walking and subsequently collapsed. She is a dairy cow, at the end of her productive life and thus on her way to the slaughterhouse. As it\u2019s forbidden by law to transport injured animals, the driver of the truck simply left her here and continued on with his journey. I\u2019m told the cow will be shot later this afternoon.<\/strong><\/p>\n What can I do? I called my team at the Montreal SPCA and we decided to find a bovine veterinarian and to send him out to my location immediately.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the manager of the facility comes to see me. He informs me that, in the end, the rendering plant isn\u2019t available for the next three days, so he has just asked a veterinarian to come euthanize the cow right away. I tell him that a veterinarian is already on the way.<\/p>\n The veterinarian arrives a few minutes later and examines the cow. She has an abnormal lump on her back. He is unable to confirm whether she is in pain. All he can tell me is that something is wrong with her, but he can\u2019t specify what exactly without a thorough examination. He adds that in a situation such as this one, when a cow refuses to get up, euthanasia is the best option.<\/p>\n I have no grounds to act under my Criminal Code powers, since the veterinarian can\u2019t confirm whether the cow is suffering. Further, unlike in every other Canadian province, the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture doesn\u2019t allow SPCA inspectors to enforce provincial animal welfare legislation with respect to animals other than dogs and cats. I am completely helpless. We proceed with the euthanasia.<\/p>\n The euthanasia takes a long time and requires several times the normal dose. The veterinarian has to perform many injections in the same location; there is a lot of blood.<\/p>\n I\u2019m crouched down next to this cow, watching her die while the veterinarian and the farmer comment on how we are \u201cwasting meat\u201d.<\/strong> I can\u2019t believe my ears: \u201cYou see what laws do! They stop us from transporting wounded animals, which means we have to waste all this meat. Meanwhile, some people are dying of hunger. It has come to the point where they can\u2019t even drag them by their legs into the slaughterhouse when they can\u2019t get up!\u201d<\/p>\n Here we are, waiting for this poor cow to die, and that\u2019s all they can find to say, really? This animal never asked to be born in order to be killed to serve mankind. At the very least, this gentle and sensitive animal who was losing her life deserved to be shown some respect. Before leaving, the manager of the facility and the veterinarian insist that the SPCA pay part of the veterinary expenses. After all, I\u2019m the one who asked for these services\u2026 As everyone leaves, I stay in my car for a moment, trying to process what just happened.<\/p>\n I\u2019m well aware that I only saw the tip of the iceberg that day. The level of detachment demonstrated by those present at the scene clearly show that these are current practices. Yet, ever since that sunny autumn day, I have drastically reduced my intake of dairy products and have gradually removed meat from my diet. It\u2019s that cow who changed my life. I called her Betsy. After all, if all cows had a name, it would be much harder to eat them, wouldn\u2019t it?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m sad I had to witness Betsy\u2019s death in order to become aware of all the suffering inflicted on animals used for food. I don\u2019t wish it upon anyone to see what I saw that day. I have a thought for all those who work in slaughterhouses and who have to kill animals who do not want to die, just like Betsy. I don\u2019t think that we can remain the same after being exposed to animal suffering.<\/strong> I regret not kneeling down next to Betsy while she was dying to try to bring her some comfort. It haunts me that I froze, foolishly, waiting for her life to end.<\/p>\n I often still think of her, and although I couldn\u2019t do anything for her legally, I\u2019m grateful that the SPCA decided to share my story, despite its sad ending. When it comes to saving animals, not all stories have a happy ending, but if Betsy\u2019s story can help raise awareness and encourage people to make small changes in their daily habits, then she won\u2019t have died in vain and the ending to this story will be a little bit softer. Every morning, when I pour almond milk into my coffee, I have a thought for Betsy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elyse G. Hynes has been an inspector and special constable for the Montreal SPCA\u2019s Investigations and Inspections Department since April 2014. She holds a Bachelor of Law from Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al as well as a certificate in criminology from the same institution. As a team leader for the deaprtement, her role is to coordinate the work of inspectors in the field and to ensure that animal cruelty and neglect investigations are successfully completed. Passionate about horses, Elyse is also a volunteer for Galahad, an organization whose mission is to find homes for rescued equines. She shares her life with her dog, Holly, her cat, Capitaine Tofu, and her horse, Achilles. (\u00a9 Photo of Elyse :\u00a0Anik Therrien-L\u00e9tourneau<\/span>, photographer)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I then realize that if I hadn\u2019t happen to stop by there that day, the cow would have been left wounded, without water or food, stretched out in the gravel and exposed to the elements all weekend until Monday morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nI then realize that if I hadn\u2019t happen to stop by there that day, the cow would have been left wounded, without water or food, stretched out in the gravel and exposed to the elements all weekend until Monday morning.<\/span><\/h5>\n
![\"betsy_3.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/compassioneng.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/betsy_3.jpg\")
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Elyse G. Hynes<\/strong><\/p>\n