British Columbia Conservation Officer Service

Conservation officers sometimes euthanize wildlife they deem a risk to public safety or property. Some of these incidents have been the subject of controversy.

Accounts of bears being tranquilized and dying,^[8] falling out of trees,^[9][10] and the high number of bear cubs (bears of the year) killed, compared to those sent to rehabilitation^[11] have resulted in numerous media articles and critical questions about protocol, decision-making, and oversight. Another incident involving a bear which was cornered by a conservation officer on a marina and not given a means of escape is under examination in media^[12] and throughout social media. The officer responsible in this case is the same officer who ordered Officer Bryce Casavant to kill two bear cubs.^[13]

In spring of 2015, Conservation Officer Bryce Casavant did not follow orders^[14] to kill the two cubs of a female bear who was killed after she continued to raid a freezer full of meat and salmon. Casavant took the cubs to a veterinary hospital, and they were then transferred to a rehabilitation facility which eventually released them into their natural environment. He was suspended for refusing to follow the order, despite the cubs showing no signs of being a danger to people or property. The suspension, and subsequent public outcry, generated international media attention, including a tweet from popular British comedian Ricky Gervais.^[15] The two bear cubs the Conservation Officer Service ordered killed were successfully rehabilitated and released by North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre.^[16]

There have been recent calls for greater public oversight of the BCCOS in media.^[17] Further, some scholars have insisted the agency be properly designated as a provincial police force for accountability reasons^[18] and have called for the killing of bear cubs to cease.^[19] This is in addition to previous news outlets referring to inappropriate government killing of animals.^[20]