Cruelty at the hands of "protesting" students

On February 2, 103 mice were released into the offices of Jean Charest (premier) and Moniuqe Gagnon-Tremblay (deputy premier) by student activists.

89 or so mice were captured by building maintenance personel or contractors (reported to be exterminators in the news) and taken to the SPA de l'Estrie.

There, they were evaluated as injured, potentially pregnant, unadoptable. They were euthanized.

The story was reported by the CBC on February 3. The report incorrectly stated that "exterminators were called in."

No further mention in the media occurred. No one was given the opportunity to respond to this cruelty with kindness.

At my rodent rescue (Small Victories Rodent Rescue - Refuge pour rongeurs Petites Victoires), I would have taken as many as I could. I have easy access to cages; we might have been able to foster and adopt them out. I am not the only one, I am sure, who is able to make a little room for cases like this.

I have left a voice mail to the general manager of the SPA de l'Estrie and am awaiting a response. Should more cases like this result, I want them to be aware that they are not isolated in acting on behalf of animals in emergency, and that they need to reach out to animal networks and the general community before making a hasty decision. [Update: We have since established a resource link with the SPA and have rescued several of their small animals.]

The office of the premier and deputy premier have my telephone number should it happen to them again; hopefully they will be consulted and give my number out should it happen to anyone else in their cabinet.

And it looks to potentially happen again (view the CBC article), even worse: This act was clearly if not officially instigated by the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (Quebec's students' federation). Jonathan Plamondon, its vice-president, gave the following interview to the McGill Tribune about the Feb. 1 organized protests:

"'We will not block anything, we will not break anything, but we want to show the government that we're still hurt by the cut,'
…

According to Plamondon, the [protest] event at the bridge will be followed by a series of 'bigger and more aggressive' actions until the province announces its budget in March. FECQ hope that more drastic actions will influence the government to reinvest the money.

'It's clear that civil disobedience is in the plan, and it's clear it's no longer a time for symbolic actions,' he said."

I will be writing letters to the student newspapers at Université de Sherbrooke and also to Bishops University, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec, Anima-Quebec, and, I think, the minister of agriculture because that's the department responsible for all animal welfare.

A corresponding effort, I believe, is in order to tell the Quebec government that cruelty to animals, when used in political actions, takes on terrorist overtones -- such as the Saguenay farmers' protest, which involved the killing of a cow and her calf to prompt increased funding for combatting the BSE beef ban -- and should not net any positive results for these radicals, but further sanctions instead.

I invite you all to help me, because the mice need all the help they can get. Addresses for your letters, phone calls, and e-mails are below.
Respectful communication helps our cause, and counters the disrespect that these "protestors" have shown. Let the small lives of these mice not be in vain, and benefit their own kind.

Update February 7: The threat to carry out the same actions was realized. The Montreal SPCA received scores of mice and placed them with another rescue group on Saturday, February 5.
To condemn the cruelty perpetrated by student activists, write these organizations, who instigated the "strike":

Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ)
Attn: Jonathan Plamondon
http://www.fecq.org/
3449 Saint-Denis, Suite 1
Montréal (Québec) H2X 3L1
Tel 514.396.3320
Fax 514.396.3329

Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec
http://www.feuq.qc.ca/
210 Ste-Catherine est, bureau 3000
Montreal, QC, H2X 1L1
feuq@feuq.qc.ca

Regarding prevention and enforcement of animal cruelty laws:
*Your local police force and animal shelter*

ANIMA Québec
http://www.animaquebec.com/
1965, rue St-Michel
Sillery (Québec) G1S 1J7
Téléphone : (418) 688-1771
Sans frais : 1 866-321-1771
Télécopieur : (418) 688-1770
Courriel : info@animaquebec.com

Quebec Agriculture Parliamentary Commission - capa@assnat.qc.ca
Françoise Gauthier

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food /
Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation
ministre.mapaq@agr.gouv.qc.ca
200-A, chemin Sainte-Foy
12e étage
Québec (Québec) G1R 4X6
Téléphone : (418) 380-2525
Télécopieur : (418) 380-2184