The case of the orphaned bear cubs has needlessly evolved from a minor issue into a major fuss. It could — and should — be quickly resolved before it becomes an even worse embarrassment.
Conservation officer Bryce Casavant was suspended without pay this week after he spared the lives of two bear cubs whose mother had been killed several days before after twice raiding a freezer full of food near Port Hardy. Instead of following orders to kill the cubs, Casavant tranquillized them and took them to a veterinary hospital. They are now at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Association in Errington.
The officer’s pay was restored after a massive outpouring of support, including a petition demanding his reinstatement, but he remains suspended. The B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union is fighting the suspension.
The petition, directed at Environment Minister Mary Polak, had garnered more than 65,000 signatures from across North America by Wednesday night, and names are still being added.
British comedian Ricky Gervais has weighed in on Twitter, demanding that “this honourable man” be reinstated. Gervais has nine million Twitter followers.
Chris Doyle, acting deputy chief of provincial operations for the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, said privacy rules prevented him from addressing personnel matters related to Casavant, so he could only offer general information.
In determining what to do with orphaned bear cubs, Doyle said, experts look at several factors, including the health and condition of the animals, as well as their level of habituation to humans and food-conditioning — seeking out human sources of food, such as garbage cans.
Doyle says there are plenty of cases where orphaned bear cubs have been released back into the wild and have thrived.
The fate of the Port Hardy bear cubs, he says, hangs on an expert assessment of their health and condition and other factors.
But is there any doubt? Photos of the adorable, fuzzy, eight-week-old bear cubs have been seen around the world. Killing the cubs is not an option.
Regardless of the science (which does not support destroying the bears in any case), the demise of the bears would raise howls of protest and would be a public-relations nightmare for B.C. and for Canada. Emotion and political expediency will triumph.
It’s not unreasonable to imagine that a ministerial order has already been issued that says something like this: “Whatever you do, don’t kill those bears. If you do, your career is over.”
No politician wants to be known for having allowed the deaths of two cute critters.
It shouldn’t have come to this. The order to kill the cubs appears to have been a snap decision, not a solution arrived at after careful study.
And suspending Casavant seems heavy-handed, especially given that it appears he was doing his job properly.
“The current provincial policy allows conservation officers to make a judgment on whether or not to kill an animal, based on whether they’re considered a public-safety risk,” said Stephanie Smith, president of the BCGEU.
Casavant, the front-line officer, determined the cubs did not pose a risk, and he is backed up by an array of wildlife-rehabilitation experts, including one who says the conservation service’s decision is not based on science. A difference of opinion on the issue should have been a matter for discussion, not a reason for suspension.
This isn’t a personnel matter, it’s a public-policy matter. If the decision made was defensible, then defend it. If an error was made, admit it and move on.
Mistakes and misjudgments can be easily forgiven; coverups and stonewalling cannot.
B.C. has already had too much of that kind of nonsense.
