A ruling from B.C.’s Environmental Appeal Board (EAB) has brought the definition of “hunting” into question, leading to disciplinary measures against a wildlife biologist for his actions towards an endangered caribou herd in northern B.C.
Doug Heard, a former government wildlife biologist and adjunct professor at the University of Northern B.C., has dedicated the past ten years to the restoration of an endangered caribou herd at Kennedy Siding, a vital 223-hectare habitat for threatened woodland caribou near Mackenzie, B.C. However, his methods for collecting caribou hair for DNA analysis were deemed illegal.
On November 7, 2024, Heard was spotted by Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship personnel using a “cable caster” device to shoot small clamps, known as alligator clips, to gather caribou hair at a feeding station. Although he had a permit to collect DNA samples from hair and fecal pellets, extracting hair directly from the animals was prohibited.
Following the incident, Heard appealed the decision to revoke his permit. The EAB ruling on May 7 confirmed that his actions met the criteria for illegal hunting under B.C. law, as per the Wildlife Act’s definition of hunting, which includes pursuing animals with the intent to capture any part of the animal.
The EAB upheld the ministry’s stance that permitting Heard’s actions could set a precedent for individuals to target wildlife as long as they aimed to capture specific parts rather than the entire animal. Despite Heard’s argument that his cable caster was less intrusive than previous methods, such as dart guns and toy crossbows, the board emphasized that his permit only allowed for opportunistic sample collection in designated areas.
Heard can reapply for a wildlife permit as of May 2, but he declined to comment on the ruling when contacted by CBC News.
Image: Caribou cluster around a feeding trough filled with specially-designed pellets in Kennedy Siding, B.C. on Nov. 23, 2023.