ANIMAL-WELFARE ACTIVISTS WORRY A TRIGGER-HAPPY, PRO-HUNTING CULTURE HAS INFILTRATED CONSERVATION AGENCIES. A PLAN IN SASKATCHEWAN FOR HIGH-POWERED GUNS ISN’T HELPING THAT IMAGE.
IS HUNTING CULTURE ‘MILITARIZING’ CONSERVATION?
Check out job postings for conservation officers in Canada and they’ll typically say you need to have a passion for the outdoors and be a champion of the environment.
A growing chorus of animal-welfare activists, however, say they’re worried a trigger-happy, pro-hunting culture has infiltrated the ranks of provincial conservation agencies. They cite various incidents from the past year as evidence: uniformed officers posing for pictures next to animals they’ve shot as if they’re trophies; a controversial recruitment ad in B.C. highlighting the opportunity to tranquilize grizzly bears; and an announcement in Saskatchewan that its conservation officers will soon be equipped with ARstyle rifles.
“There is an urgent need to completely overhaul how each of the provinces and territories manages wildlife,” said Lesley Fox, executive director of The Association for the Protection of FurBearing Animals, which recently applied to Canada’s highest court to settle a dispute over how much discretion conservation officers in B.C. should be given to kill wildlife.
Conservation agencies say they take seriously their obligations to protect the environment and wildlife. They say they use lethal force as a last resort.
But they aren’t completely dismissing the concerns either. In a statement, B.C.’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change said it is in “the early stages” of exploring options for an independent review or oversight body to deal with complaints about officer conduct.
The duties of provincial conservation officers are wide-ranging: they enforce environmental laws, investigate poachers and illegal dumpers, respond to public complaints about wildlife, and educate the public on ways to reduce conflicts with wildlife.
But critics complain officers spend too much time reacting to human-wildlife conflicts and not enough on prevention, such as managing the food and waste that people leave out. They also worry that when conservation agencies publicize the work of officers there’s too much emphasis on the gunslinging aspects of the job.
This month, the Manitoba Conservation Officers Association posted on Facebook a picture of a uniformed officer in Churchill posing with a “problem” polar bear that had come too close to town and had to be “chemically immobilized.”
In a statement, the province’s department of sustainable development said it “does occasionally allow photos of an animal, or an officer with an animal, to be shared via social media … if it is deemed to be in the public interest, would help convey a safety message or reinforce the work of conservation officers to safely and humanely prevent human-wildlife conflict.”
But Bryce Casavant, a former B.C. conservation officer, says the image clearly falls into the category of a “trophy” photo and is reminiscent of another photo that appeared alongside a controversial recruitment ad posted by B.C.’s conservation service last year.
The ad featured an officer holding an unconscious grizzly bear cub and the tagline: “Want to tranquilize a grizzly bear? Have you ever wanted to be up close and personal with a live grizzly and get paid for doing it? Well now’s your chance.” The service took down the ad after the National Observer raised questions about it.
“In my view, agencies that allow or promote this behaviour are creating an organizational culture where there are emotional and psychological rewards for pulling the trigger,” said Casavant, who gained worldwide attention a few years ago when he refused to obey orders to kill two orphaned bear cubs. He was suspended and then transferred to another job in the province. He has since published a number of reports on his website that cast the service in a harsh light.
Meanwhile, conservation officers in Saskatchewan have come under scrutiny after the province put out a request for proposals last month indicating it was seeking to buy 147 semiautomatic carbines for them.
In a written statement, the ministry of environment told the Post its officers have “one of the broadest environmental mandates of any conservation service in Canada — from landfills to traditional game and fishery management to the duties of 911 response.”
Because officers often patrol alone in remote areas and encounter armed individuals involved in crime, the province “wants to provide conservation officers with the tools they need to do their jobs safely and with confidence,” the ministry said.
Asked if the AR-style rifles could be used in wildlife encounters, the ministry said officers will continue to rely on 12-gauge shotguns for wildlife control, “but the patrol rifle could be used if necessary.”
Heather Bear, vice chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan, told the Regina Leader-Post she had grave concerns. Many Indigenous communities already fear the officers and the use of high-powered rifles will lead to more intimidation and put people in “harm’s way.”
Fox says “militarizing” conservation officers is completely unnecessary. “It puts the public — and wildlife — at risk.”
Her association is locked in an ongoing legal battle over whether conservation officers have too much discretion when it comes to euthanizing animals. “The issue is of national importance because through their actions, provincial environmental officers are destroying public trust ... and needlessly killing our wildlife,” Fox said.
WANT TO TRANQUILIZE A GRIZZLY? NOW’S YOUR CHANCE.