A Canadian conservation officer has been vindicated after he lost his job for refusing to kill two bear cubs.
The story began in 2015 when Bryce Casavant was called out in his role as a conservation officer to a mobile home park close to Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada. He was called out by residents who spotted a black bear rummaging through garbage looking for food. This is a fairly common occurrence and, unfortunately, in such circumstance the British Columbia policy is to kill the bear. The policy is based on the fact that a bear that has become accustomed to human food will continually return – thereby posing a continuing threat to residents.
While Mr. Casavant did kill the bear, as was his duty, he found two baby bears nearby. While he may have been expected to put them down, as they would have been unable to care for themselves, he took them to a vet.
"It took a lot of guts to do what he did”
— Nguyen #fbpe #fbr (@haaohaoo) June 14, 2020
“In the bigger picture, the ruling sets a precedent that conservation officers could stand up to supervisors against kill orders when it is appropriate to do so” https://t.co/2WfsRT7qWw
Thankfully the two cubs were then released into the wild after a stay at a rehabilitation centre.
Shockingly, Mr. Casavant was then suspended and later fired from his position for refusing to destroy the cubs. Now after years of legal hassle with his previous employer he has finally been cleared at the British Columbia Court of Appeals after a massive public outcry.
He said on hearing the appeals court verdict:
"I feel like the black clouds that have hung over my family for years are finally starting to part … But the moment is bittersweet – my firing should have never happened in the first place. I kept fighting so that I could clear my name … I’ve long stood for public service, honour and integrity. It’s how I was raised and how I’ve raised my daughter. I really feel that I was targeted."
Disturbingly, the conservation group Pacific Wild believe that over 4,500 black bears have been killed by British Columbia authorities over the last 8 years – that’s over 1 every 2 days. In a report for the organisation Casavant stated:
"[British Columbia] isn’t a shooting gallery for government employees … It’s unreasonable to believe that, including juvenile bear cubs, over 4,000 black bears were killed “as a last resort"
While the incident is shocking, and it is great that Mr. Casavant has been cleared, it is still awful that so many of these great creatures are losing their lives each year. We hope that the British Columbia authorities find a more sensible approach towards the bear population soon.
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