In a recent ruling by B.C.’s Environmental Appeal Board (EAB), the interpretation of “hunting” has been a focal point as a wildlife biologist faced repercussions for his actions towards an endangered caribou herd under study in northern British Columbia.
Doug Heard, a former provincial government wildlife biologist and adjunct professor at the University of Northern B.C., has dedicated the past decade to the restoration efforts of an imperiled caribou herd at Kennedy Siding, a vital 223-hectare habitat for threatened woodland caribou situated southeast of Mackenzie, B.C. His method of obtaining caribou hair for DNA sampling was deemed unlawful.
On November 7, 2024, Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship staff observed Heard using a “cable caster” device to shoot small clamps, known as alligator clips, in an attempt to collect caribou hair for research at a feeding station. Despite having a permit to gather DNA samples from hair and fecal pellets, Heard was prohibited from directly removing hair from the animals.
Heard contested the removal of his permit and filed an appeal. In a ruling issued on May 7, the EAB concluded that his actions fell within the bounds of illegal hunting as per B.C. law.
According to the Wildlife Act, hunting encompasses pursuing animals with the aim of capturing any part, including just hair, regardless of whether the wildlife is harmed, killed, or captured thereafter, as stated by the tribunal.
The province contended that permitting Heard’s actions would potentially enable individuals to target and track wildlife as long as their intent was to acquire a specific body part rather than the whole animal. The Environmental Appeal Board concurred.
Previous decisions were cited by the tribunal, indicating that Heard was authorized to opportunistically collect samples from caribou in an area where hunting was otherwise prohibited.
Heard argued that the cable caster was a less intrusive method compared to his prior approaches of gathering hair samples, such as using a dart gun and a toy crossbow, which were previously deemed invalid uses of his permit.
Heard became eligible to reapply for a wildlife permit starting May 2 but declined to provide a comment on the ruling when contacted by CBC News.