SAINT-HYACINTHE—A disturbing undercover video released by Animal Justice, a national animal law advocacy organization, shows the cruel treatment of calves, sheep and cows inside a Quebec livestock auction.
The footage filmed in early 2026 shows terrified animals, some crying out in distress as they are hit with rods on their backs, sides, and sensitive faces.
“This video is heartbreaking to watch. Seeing calves and sheep, some just days old, struck with rods and canes. This is just one example of how a system of industry self-regulation is failing animals. It’s horrifying to imagine what else might be happening to farmed animals behind closed doors in Quebec.”
Animal Justice’s investigation found:
Vulnerable calves, sheep, cows, and goats hit, prodded and struck with rods on their backs, sides and faces. Goats and calves grabbed, kicked and yanked by their horns and ears.
Overcrowding, with animals crammed into tiny enclosures with little, if any, room to move.
Frightened animals crying out, running frantically, and desperately trying to escape abuse.
Dead animals left on the premises and bloodstains visible on the auction grounds.
Violations of some of the few legal protections that apply to farmed animals in Quebec.
MAPAQ Knew But Didn’t Act
Even more troubling, access-to-information documents obtained by Animal Justice reveal that the same type of abuse was witnessed by Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture (MAPAQ) inspectors a year prior—but MAPAQ did effectively nothing to stop it or to prevent it from occurring again.
At the provincial level, MAPAQ is legally responsible for promoting the economic growth, profitability, and competitiveness of the agricultural sector, yet it is also the agency responsible for enforcing provincial animal welfare laws on farms and at auctions, creating an inherent conflict of interest within the ministry.
“According to the government’s own records. MAPAQ inspectors documented this kind of abuse at this same auction back in 2025 and did next to nothing to stop it. This is what happens when an industry is allowed to write its own rules, deciding what practices are acceptable no matter how much suffering they cause and when the same government entity is responsible for both promoting an industry and policing it,” said Alanna Devine, director of advocacy at Animal Justice.
And at the federal level it’s a similar story, with the Ministry of Agriculture (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) mandated to promote agricultural trade, industry growth, and export competitiveness—while simultaneously tasked with regulating and enforcing Canada’s minimal animal transport and slaughter laws, and with no federal laws governing animal welfare on farms.
These systemic failures leave hundreds of millions of animals raised and killed for food without meaningful protection. Animal Justice is calling for systemic reform of how farmed animals are protected in Canada as outlined in Towards a National Framework for Farmed Animal Protection, a report jointly released by Animal Justice and other leading animal protection organizations earlier this year.
“If these conditions were inflicted on a dog or cat, it would likely lead to charges for animal cruelty,” said Ms. Devine. “This is the predictable result of a broken system where the animal farming industry is permitted to write its own rules, and where the government departments tasked with protecting animals are in a massive conflict of interest.”
Contact:
Alanna Devine (Montreal)
Director of Advocacy
[email protected]
Josh Lynn
Public Relations Manager
[email protected]