The interpretation of “hunting” has been a focal point in a ruling by B.C.’s Environmental Appeal Board (EAB) that supported a disciplinary action against a wildlife biologist for his conduct towards an endangered caribou herd he is researching in northern British Columbia.
Doug Heard, a former wildlife biologist for the provincial government and adjunct professor at the University of Northern B.C., has dedicated the past ten years to the recovery of an endangered caribou herd at Kennedy Siding, a critical 223-hectare habitat for threatened woodland caribou situated southeast of Mackenzie, B.C. His approach to gathering caribou hair for DNA analysis was deemed unlawful.
On November 7, 2024, Heard was observed by Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship staff on a live webcam using a device known as a “cable caster” to shoot small clamps, referred to as alligator clips, in an attempt to collect caribou hair for research at a feeding station. While Heard possessed a permit for DNA sample collection from hair and feces, he was not authorized to directly remove hair from the animals.
Following the confiscation of his permit, Heard contested the decision. In a ruling issued on May 7, the EAB concluded that his actions fell within the definition of illegal hunting under B.C. legislation.
According to the Wildlife Act, hunting encompasses pursuing animals with the intention of capturing any part, including hair, “whether or not the wildlife is then or subsequently wounded, killed or captured,” as stated by the tribunal.
The province contended that permitting Heard’s actions would enable individuals to hunt and track wildlife as long as their aim was to extract a specific part of an animal rather than the whole creature. The Environmental Appeal Board concurred.
Referring to a prior ruling, the tribunal highlighted that Heard was allowed to opportunistically collect samples from caribou in an area where hunting is typically prohibited.
Heard argued that the cable caster was less intrusive than his previous methods of gathering hair samples, such as using a dart gun and a toy crossbow, which had been deemed invalid in previous board decisions in 2021 and 2022. He was eligible to reapply for a wildlife permit as of May 2 but declined to provide a statement on the ruling when approached by CBC News.