Rick’s Cafe: Winter resort accused of slaughtering 100 sled dogs due to recession

As a rule I try to stay away from Nazi comparisons, because as Woody Allen said, “It’s hard to satirize a guy with shiny boots.” But if there is a cat Hitler, he is saluting his approval over the recent news from British Columbia, where Whistler-based Outdoor Adventures has sparked an SPCA investigation over the mass killing of 100 sled dogs. (Husband to horrified wife and kids on vacation: “I swear, honey, they didn’t mention this in the brochure!”).

Whistler, a Canadian resort town located about 75 miles north of Vancouver, is known for its winter recreation and summer outdoors activities. In a true fact that I learned on Wikipedia, Whistler was named for the cry of the hoary marmot (shhh, there’s one now), which I have always considered the most underrated of the woodland creatures. Whenever you see an animated movie with a pretty girl getting dressed for the ball, it’s always birds, deer and rabbits assisting the project. Sometimes there’s a porcupine serving as a pin cushion, for comedy relief. But you never see a marmot fetching shoes or a corset.

Anyway, Whistler, B.C.; that’s where Outdoors Adventures is located. Among the “adventures” offered there are snowmobiling, horseback riding, sleigh rides and — until recently — dog sled excursions. It seems that following the Vancouver Winter Olympics, there was a serious downturn in tourist attendance, and Outdoors Adventures decided it had to lay off some of its 300 sled dogs due to lack of bookings. And by “lay off,” I mean “shoot in the head.”

Several media reports have the number of dogs killed at 100. On its web site, Outdoor Adventures claims 50. At any rate, what we know is that the dogs were disposed of in a horrific manner, shot “execution style” in their pens, some having their throats cut. The dogs were killed in front of each other, and many panicked, attacking the shooters. Afterward, they were thrown into a mass grave; one report claiming that at least some were still alive at the time.

The dogs were operated for Outdoors Adventures by a company unfortunately named Howling Dog Tours Whistler Inc., and all this came to light because a Howling Dogs employee applied for and received compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder from WorkSafe BC, the provincial body that manages workers’ compensation claims. He filed his claim after having to shoot the dogs.

Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told the Associated Press that the slaughter left her sickened and that it is the worst investigation she’s ever done. Both the British Columbia SPCA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating the slaughter.

“There aren’t words to really describe some of the ways these dogs died,” she said. “We don’t put cows down like that. Slaughterhouses have very strict rules for how supposed culling takes place. This violated every one of them.”

For its part, Outdoors Adventures is claiming that it was told that the dogs would be “euthanized,” and that they were not informed on what method would be used. There’s a very long explanation of their side of the story on their web site, which begins with this: Outdoor Adventures has voluntarily suspended operations of Howling Dog Tours Whistler Inc., as of February 1, 2011.

Yes, let’s see: The dogs were slaughtered sometime before April, 2010, which was when the post-traumatic stress compensation claim was filed. Dog sled operations were suspended 10 months later, and not until the bad PR started coming out. Yes, I’d say that this was about as voluntary as Hosni Mubarak’s promise not to run for another term in Egypt.

It’s hard here not to make comparisons with our own Dog Slaughtering Moment of Shame, otherwise known as the Michael Vick case. Vick did time in prison for disposing of unwanted dogs in horrific fashion, and is now the male version of Cruella DeVille. Yet a guy in Canada who systematically shot and slashed 100 healthy sled dogs actually got paid by the government for the stress.

And here’s my last Nazi comparison for the week: Is the “I was just following orders” defense any good here? If your boss ordered you to shoot your dog, would you do it?

Granted, Mounties are still investigating the dog slaughter (as in Dudley Dooright, I hope there’s a talking horse). But it still shines a light on the thin line we tread between animal cruelty and business as usual. You can’t mail a puppy in a sealed box, but you can club a seal pup to death and mail the meat. You get prison time for shooting a bald eagle, but millions of chickens are slaughtered every year to make your KFC Double-Down. In this country every day we kill racehorses that can no longer run for our amusement, and euthanize thousands of unwanted pets. One had better hope that we aren’t invaded by a superior alien race, because they’re going to look at this — what I call the Michael Vick Conundrum — and kill us all for being so hypocritical. I just hope that they dispose of us humanely, and tell our children that we went to live in the country.

ALIEN: “So Lassie gets a TV show on this continent, but over on this one known as Asia, she’s the main course at dinner? This must be wrong (bangs computer screen).”

Listen, it’s simple, folks. If we’re going to use animals for our amusement — sled dog, racehorse, racing turtles, whatever — then it’s our responsibility to make sure that they’re treated in a humane and dignified manner when their working days are over. God, if you believe in him, gave us dominion over the beasts, and with that comes responsibility. Or if you don’t believe in God, then let’s just say that it’s time that we started acting like the highest evolved species. At Whistler at least, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

And I’ve just received a note from the hoary marmot; he wants his name removed from the Whistler Wikipedia page. He washes his hands and his back feet of the entire ugly situation. And I don’t blame him.

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Rick’s Cafe Americain appears each Thursday. Contact: Rickchand@gmail.com.