Voyage of the Vigorous Globetrotter: Frank Metivier (vegan), Part 1 of 2

The Canadian animal-people rights advocate, Francis “Frank” Metivier (vegan), also known as “The Vigorous Vegan Vagabond,” did not have a vegan upbringing. By 2018, he had fully embraced a vegan lifestyle. “And I was learning all those things that are horrible for animals. And I was still supporting it as a vegetarian. So I said, this doesn’t make sense. If I’m there for the animals, vegetarian is going kind of halfway in my belief of not harming animals. So it was just like a natural progress for me when I learned everything, to become vegan and straight away I became an activist.”

Frank became an activist and advocate for animal-people rights. In 2020 and 2021, he used drone flights to capture footage of over 30 sled dog-people kennels, exposing the harsh conditions. This was featured on Canada’s most-watched investigative journalism program, CTV W5. “This hidden camera footage over a 12-hour period shows sled dogs never leaving their chains. And it appears none of the dogs caught on camera had any food or water replenished in the freezing conditions.” “In my six years of activism, right now, one thing that I know is that every time that animals are used for profit, the animal always, always loses. And the sled dog industry is no different.” “A lot of dogs were scared and they all live in the same area. The chains may be five, six feet long.”

As an activist advocating for veganism, Frank is always on the road. He travels and lives in a van, embracing a minimalist lifestyle. Adorned with an eye-catching logo, “The Vigorous Vegan Vagabond,” his van serves as a mobile platform for his cause. “I don’t need too many things. All that money that I save, I can spend it in other areas of my life that I think it’s more fulfilling for me. It’s more important, like traveling, activism.”