B.C. Conservation Officer Suspended For Not Destroying Cubs

A B.C. Conservation Officer has been suspended without pay for allegedly refusing to kill a pair of black bear cubs over the weekend.

Officer Bryce Casavant is under review by the Ministry of Environment following his actions to not destroy the cubs after they were reported on someone’s property in Port Hardy. The bears, estimated to be about eight weeks old, are now in the care of the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington. The recovery centre's manager Robin Campbell says the whole ordeal is shocking and unnecessary.

“I had spoken to Bryce after we received the bears and he said that the bears had not been habituated and had not caused previous problems; there is no reason to put them down,” said Campbell. “The owner of the property called me, and he verified that the cubs had not been a nuisance on his property. The mother had been a problem, but not the cubs.”

The two bear cubs that were not destroyed (Photo Credit: Change.org)

Campbell thinks the cubs had returned to the homeowner’s property because their mother had been killed there and they are still weaning. When the homeowner found the cubs, they were stuck up a tree and the fire department had to be called in to help with the rescue. The bears were tranquilized by Casavant and then taken to a veterinarian despite Casavant being told to destroy the cubs. They were then taken to the recovery centre.

“This guy is a sworn member, he’s not just some guy on the street, he had to make smart decisions,” Campbell says of Casavant. “He had to make a decision. We need to trust him, and I’m sure he didn’t think it was necessary to kill another animal.”

Environment Minister Mary Polak has commented to KelownaNow regarding the situation:

“This is a very sad and unfortunate situation with the mother bear and her cubs near Port Hardy. Although Conservation Officers must sometimes put down wild animals for the safety of the public and the welfare of the animal, we understand how difficult it is for all involved. Our Conservation Officers provide the highest level of public safety and natural resource law enforcement service possible. These very difficult decisions for animal relocation suitability are made by professionals including senior wildlife biologists and the provincial wildlife veterinarian, along with conservation officers. The Conservation Officer Service is investigating this situation, including the actions of its members. We will share more information about the status and welfare of the cubs as it becomes available.”

The two cubs at the recovery facility (Photo Credit: Julie Mackey)

An online petition has been started by the group North Island Wildlife Awareness with the hopes of garnering the attention of residents and the minister. In a matter of hours, more than 3,000 people have signed the petition calling on Polak to reinstate Casavant. As for the cubs, Campbell says they are doing just fine and are showing signs that they are not habituated to humans.

“As soon as we let them out they ran away from us, and when we put them in with the other ones, they play with them and run away from us,” adds Campbell. “Their mother had been habituated, but these cubs have not. We take this very seriously.”

The recovery centre is a non-profit organization that works to rehabilitate all types of animals, specifically raptors and black bears.