The Vancouver Park Board is suing a Langley farmer for $12,000 following reports that he auctioned off more than a dozen former petting zoo goats to be sent to slaughter.
The small claims court suit, filed on March 8 in Vancouver, alleges that Trevor French sold 16 of the 17 goats that he adopted from the Stanley Park petting zoo after it folded in 2011.
The park board claims that when French took the animals in, he promised to treat them humanely and not sell them or have them destroyed without authorization. Instead, French allegedly sold "some or all" of the animals to slaughterhouses.
The suit describes French's behaviour as "calculated, harsh, reprehensible and malicious" and alleges that he deliberately broke his agreement with the park board in the name of profit.
"As such it is deserving of condemnation and punishment," the claim reads.
French also adopted four sheep from the defunct petting zoo and the suit alleges that all four were lost to predators.
The park board is asking for French to pay $2,000 for breaking the adoption agreement and $10,000 in punitive damages, "since the conduct of the defendant is deserving of condemnation and punishment that cannot be achieved by an award of compensatory damages alone."
None of the allegations in the statement of claim have been proven in court, and French has yet to file a statement of defence.
French has previously denied selling the goats for meat, but claimed he got rid of some "nasty and violent" animals.
The sole surviving goat adopted by French was seized by animal control officers last month and returned to Stanley Park. Workers there soon discovered that she was pregnant, and the park board is taking responsibility for the safety of the kids.
