Eyes in the Darkness: The hidden cost of roadside zoos

• Explore Beyond the Fence | CTV News Exclusive

The story we’re about to tell involves three animal sanctuaries, spanning two countries, with a sole mission: one of compassion and hope to create change.

It’s a story about exotic animals, specifically a group of African lions — classified as ‘vulnerable’ by the federal Endangered Species Act.

With fewer than 40,000 left in the wild, these lions occupy less than one-quarter of their historic range, according to Humane World for Animals, a global non-profit dedicated to animal welfare.

Historic seizure

In 2019, Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane World for Animals Canada, says her team spearheaded the largest seizure of zoo animals in Canadian history. The operation took place at a run-down location in Saint-Édouard, Quebec.

During a nationally televised news conference, Aldworth spoke on behalf of Humane World, which was known at the time as Humane Society International.

“As of today, Humane Society International has resumed the care of over 100 wild animals, made up of dozens of species,” Aldworth said on the first day of the operation.

The actual number of animals seized ended up being close to 250, some of which were reported to have had no access to food or water.

“I’ve now helped shut down two roadside zoos in Canada, and I can tell you that what we see in those facilities stays with you forever,” Aldworth shared during a conversation for this CTV Exclusive.

Lions in peril

The owner of Saint-Édouard Zoo, Norman Trahan, had received fines in the past from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ), which is responsible for animal protection in Quebec.

“It came to light that the owner of this facility was considering euthanizing the lions or selling them to a known animal abuser in the United States,” Aldworth said.

The zoo had been on the radar of the Montreal SPCA for some time. Its team brought in a professional to assess the situation.

“The veterinarian accompanying us, who has over 15 years of experience working with both professional and amateur zoological facilities, told us that this was by far the worst case she had ever seen,” said Sophie Gaillard, the Montreal SPCA director of animal advocacy and legal and government affairs.

“We did seize two live alpacas who were emaciated and at imminent risk of death, according to the veterinarian, as well as four deceased animals — two tigers and two species of birds,” she added.

Gaillard also said three lemurs suffered such severe frostbite their fingers fell off. “The owner refused to treat them or have them euthanized because he could still breed them.”

Cruelty charges filed

Using this information, the SPCA went to the Crown, and a year later charges were laid at Saint-Édouard Zoo.

“This is the first time in Canada that a zoo owner is facing animal cruelty charges,” Gaillard told the media at the site of the zoo.

But the federal charge of animal cruelty was dropped after Trahan pleaded guilty to lesser violations. He was fined $6,800 and banned from owning exotic animals for five years.

Fast forward to January 2025, and another for-profit roadside zoo operating on the same property declared bankruptcy. Once that happened, the judge returned the land to Trahan, along with the seven African lions remaining on the property.

Alone in the dark

Aldworth described the situation as devastating, noting how they had committed massive resources to shut down the roadside zoo and find homes for the animals across North America.

“To then know that he had circumvented everything that had happened,” said Aldworth.

The Humane World for Animals team returned to the property.

“When I walked into that broken-down, dank, barren, dark enclosure where these lions were, and saw them confined to tiny spaces — where they were spending their winter — an 8x10 chain-link surrounded concrete room with nothing — I knew there was no way we could walk away,” said Aldworth.

Aldworth said it then came to light the owner of the facility was considering euthanizing the lions or selling them to a known animal abuser in the United States.

Cross-border challenge

The Big Cat Public Safety Act, enacted in December 2022, prohibits the private ownership of big cats, including lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars.

When the Florida-based known animal abuser — confirmed by PETA — applied for permits to take the lions, it didn’t take long for word to spread to one of the accredited sanctuaries in the U.S., The Wildcat Sanctuary.

“Someone in the U.S. was looking to purchase these lions, which is how we got involved,” said Tammy Thies, founder and executive director of The Wildcat Sanctuary. “We obviously didn’t want them [the lions] to go from one concerning situation to another. We wanted them to live out their lives at accredited sanctuaries and no longer contribute to the surplus — what we call the captive wildlife crisis.”

But bringing an exotic animal from Canada to the U.S. is not an easy process.

“When transporting an endangered animal, you have to obtain a permit, but that permit goes through multiple government processes and is time-intensive to secure. That’s why we had to find a temporary home in Canada while we waited for those permits,” explained Aldworth.

The only problem was, that home didn’t exist in Canada. Yet.

“There were no zoos that could take these animals, even temporarily. There was no space for them anywhere, so we had to construct a facility from the ground up — which became Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary."

“The owner of the roadside zoo wanted all the animals gone by the end of April, or unfortunately, their fate would have been euthanasia.”

Building hope

Located three hours north of Toronto in Muskoka, Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is a non-profit that cares for injured and orphaned wildlife. But this wildlife is typically native to Canada, and the enclosures that existed weren’t designed to house six-hundred-pound wildcats.

Linda Glimps, executive director of Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, said, “When we found out about this rescue, it wasn’t until the end of January, and we had a very tight timeline to have everything done by the end of April. That was the deadline set by the owner of the roadside zoo — he wanted all of the animals gone by the end of April, or their fate would be euthanasia.”

Race against time

The clock was ticking to save these apex predators, and it was in the dead of Canadian winter.

“This operation was going to take hundreds of thousands of dollars to execute, from beginning to end,” said Aldworth. “We needed to find great partners. It’s a perfect example of what can happen when everyone works together to make the impossible possible.”

The northern-based non-profit needed to team up with sanctuaries in Minnesota and Arkansas to become the “first of its kind” facility in Canada — accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.

All this, to bring these innocent animals one step closer to salvation. But the painful journey is far from over, and a great issue remains unaddressed.