A former Quebec zoo owner allegedly shot tigers in the head and sold their remains for $10,000 each, according to an investigation set to air Thursday evening on Radio-Canada’s Enquête program. Normand Trahan, who ran the Saint-Édouard-de-Maskinongé zoo from 1989 to 2019, is also accused of neglecting animals, leading to the amputation of limbs on several lemurs due to frostbite.
The investigation, led by journalists Marie-Pier Bouchard and Judith Plamondon, reportedly includes previously unpublished images and testimony from a former employee who alerted the SPCA to the alleged animal cruelty in 2019. That raid uncovered a “butchery” scene, according to the SPCA, with frozen tiger carcasses piled up, hooks and bloodied knives present, and animal parts stored in plastic bags and containers. Approximately 250 animals were relocated to other sanctuaries in North America following the raid, and the zoo was shut down.
According to the report, Trahan admitted to undercover journalists posing as potential buyers in August 2025 that he would kill tigers and conceal the true cause of death from wildlife authorities. He allegedly claimed tigers were more valuable dead than alive, selling them to taxidermists. The report also details the suffering of lemurs who escaped their enclosures and suffered severe frostbite, resulting in amputations and, in some cases, euthanasia.
Criminal charges against Trahan were ultimately dropped in 2021, but he pleaded guilty to penal offenses and was fined nearly $7,000. He was also prohibited from owning animals for profit for five years. But, the SPCA maintains that criminal animal cruelty occurred, and alleges a possible agreement was reached with Trahan to drop the criminal charges. Sophie Gaillard, currently director of animal defense and legal affairs for the SPCA, stated in the report that the evidence demonstrates criminal animal cruelty was committed by Trahan.
Trahan denies the allegations, blaming the current zoo owner, Émilie Gaudry, for any subsequent mistreatment of animals, despite the evidence presented in the report being gathered before Gaudry took over the zoo in 2021. He initiated legal action against Gaudry in 2023, leading to the zoo’s bankruptcy.
The report raises questions about the adequacy of current regulations and oversight to prevent similar situations from occurring. Prosecutor Julien Beauchamp-Laliberté, who was involved in the initial case, declined to comment on the investigation’s findings when contacted by Radio-Canada, stating he was unaware of the details of the Enquête report.
Enquête’s report, titled “Le roi des fauves” (The King of the Beasts), is scheduled to air Thursday at 9 p.m. On ICI Télé and ICI Tou.tv.