Group challenges ruling saying killing of bear cub OK

A British Columbia court has dismissed a case in which a wildlife advocacy group accused the provincial government of not following its own law on the destruction of wildlife.

The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals filed a petition with the B.C. Supreme Court earlier this year challenging a conservation officer’s decision to kill a black bear cub near Dawson Creek in May 2016.

Lawyers for the group argued in court last month that the officer didn’t have the authority under the Wildlife Act to euthanize the cub after it was found on the roadside apparently orphaned.

But the province said the law implies officers can destroy animals at their discretion, and the conservation officer decided the cub was not a suitable candidate for captive rearing and release.

Justice Gordon Weatherill says in a written decision that conservation officers do have the authority to kill wildlife, but only when they are performing their duties and the actions follow government policy.

The Fur-Bearers group says in a tweet that they are “exploring options and next steps” with legal counsel. Conservation officers in B.C. responded to 1,972 calls about black bears and killed 454 of the animals between January and the end of October. During the same period last year, they responded to 1,757 calls and killed 458 black bears.