An animal advocacy group is asking the B.C. Court of Appeal to overturn a B.C. Supreme Court decision that conservation officers can kill wildlife at their discretion.
The appeal is based on an incident in 2016 in which a conservation officer killed a black bear cub near Dawson Creek because it was malnourished, despite a wildlife centre agreeing to accept the cub into a rehabilitation program.
Arden Beddoes, the lawyer for the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals, argues that the Wildlife Act only permits officers to euthanize an animal when it poses a threat to people, property or other wildlife.
“If they feel that they have concerns about the condition of that animal, they have the ability to capture that animal and have it assessed by a veterinarian, and that is how euthanasia is supposed to take place according to the legislation in our view,” he said.
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“Everyone agrees that they can kill animals, including wildlife that are a threat. But what the province says and the conservation office says is that they can also kill animals that are not of threat. They have a very broad authority to do that.”
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The B.C. Ministry of Environment says that no conservation officer enjoys killing an animal, and that euthanization is always a last resort.
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“Conservation officers are guided by provincial wildlife policy, as well as their experience and expertise, to make decisions in the field every day,” said a spokesperson in an email.
The ministry said that the lower court ruling supports its interpretation of conservation officers’ powers under the Wildlife Act, and that with the matter before the courts it cannot comment further.
The appellate court’s decision in the case is expected as early as Friday.
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