Likewise, his unwavering respect for wildlife drove him to lead a fight against allowing circus animals into Edmonton. A man who has swum with wild dolphins, Butler is not impressed with West Edmonton Mall's setup. He won't shop there until the dolphins are gone and he has organized protest with university students. Yet he regards zoos as a valuable way of educating children about animals as long as healthy creatures are not ripped from their natural habitats. Displaying injured creatures that cannot be returned to a wild state is all right, he says.
Zoos are okay if they honour animals.
Butler enjoys fly-fishing to the point where he wrote a comprehensive book on the sport. For most of his life, he's love to lose himself in casting the perfect fly. Where many conscientious anglers will crimp barbs on their hooks and release their prey, Butler removes the hook from the shank of the fly altogether. He still carefully places the little bits of feather on quiet pools along mountain streams. The fish still splash and strike, but he can't catch them.