C.O. suspended for refusing to kill bear cubs

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do...

Quote:

---

B.C. conservation officer Bryce Casavant has been suspended without pay for refusing to kill two black bear cubs near Port Hardy after their mother was killed for repeatedly raiding a freezer full of meat and salmon.

Despite an order to kill the cubs too, Casavant took them to a veterinary hospital. They are now at a recovery centre run by the North Island Wildlife Recovery Association in Errington, which like Port Hardy is on Vancouver Island.
Robin Campbell, the recovery centre's manager, said the conservation officer did the right thing as the cubs are not habituated to humans and can be reintroduced to the wild.
"[The mother bear] was a problem, but these cubs did nothing."

---

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...cubs-1.3141652

I'm not sure how they are going to raise the cubs in captivity without them becoming "habituated to humans".

I've got to side with the supervisor who ordered the cubs destruction.
I'd suggest the officer in question find a line of work he is better suited to.

........repeatedly raiding a freezer full of meat and salmon.

The cubs things doesn't bother me as much as this. So was momma destroying the building to get in? How about moving things?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wahoo

........repeatedly raiding a freezer full of meat and salmon.

The cubs things doesn't bother me as much as this. So was momma destroying the building to get in? How about moving things?

---

Are you suggesting someone move because he is having bear problems?
Should we have all of Barrhaven move the next time there is a bear there?

Once a bear knows there's food somewhere and wants to get at it, there's not much stopping it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by werner.reiche

Are you suggesting someone move because he is having bear problems?

---

I said 'moving things' - meaning the freezer and food.

Clearly this CO is not really suited to the realities of the job. Nobody likes to destroy animals but sometimes it is necessary. Veterinarians I'm sure don't "like" putting down pets but likely do it almost everyday. How these 2 cubs won't become used to humans and likely completely dependent on them makes no sense. To release these bears will be just delaying an order to destroy them as they will surely interact negatively with humans.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wahoo

I said 'moving things' - meaning the freezer and food.

---

To where? Most people keep their freezer/food where they live.

They said it was a mobile home, chances are the freezer was outside under a Car Port/Lean-To etc....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MikePal

They said it was a mobile home, chances are the freezer was outside under a Car Port/Lean-To etc....

---

Possibly, but the article says "repeatedly raided the freezer inside a mobile home" which led me to believe the freezer was inside the home and the bear was breaking into the home to raid the freezer. If the freezer was actually outside, then moving it would be a reasonable suggestion.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by terrym

Clearly this CO is not really suited to the realities of the job.

---

You could look at it that way, or, you could say he has the balls to not be a robot by using his own discretion, even when disciplinary action is taken against him.

Quote:

---

Robin Campbell, the recovery centre's manager, said the conservation officer did the right thing as the cubs are not habituated to humans and can be reintroduced to the wild.
"[The mother bear] was a problem, but these cubs did nothing."

---

The bad thing is that the mother had likely already taught the cubs where to find food,so,the damage was already done. People without animal rights sensitivities should never be farmers or CO's. Probably if you get right to the root of the suspension,the CO refused a direct order. That's a big no-no.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by trimmer21

People with animal rights sensitivities should never be farmers or CO's.

---

I believe a CO or farmer that doesn't have animal rights sensitivities doesn't make for a good CO or farmer, but especially a CO. Yes ,he may get it for insubordination.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by last5oh_302

I believe a CO or farmer that doesn't have animal rights sensitivities doesn't make for a good CO or farmer, but especially a CO. Yes ,he may get it for insubordination.

---

Thanks. That's what I meant to say. I amended my post.

I agree with the officer, why kill the cubs if no harm was done and they can be relocated to a remote area when they are older. Hope he gets reinstated.



British Columbia's Ministry of Environment is investigating after a conservation officer was suspended for refusing to kill two black bear cubs.
Bryce Casavant was dispatched to a home near Port Hardy, located near the northern tip of Vancouver Island, for reports of a black bear eating salmon from a freezer over the weekend.
Since it had eaten human food, the hungry bear was killed.
PHOTOS


http://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1...._225/image.jpg

Conservation officer Bryce Casavant is seen trying to calm a bear cub before taking it to a rehabilitation organization on Vancouver Island in this still from a YouTube video.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1...._225/image.jpg

A conservation officer was suspended after refusing to euthanize two bear cubs near Port Hardy over the weekend.



Casavant was then told to euthanize the bear’s two young cubs. However he refused, arguing there was no proof they had eaten human food.
He tranquilized the animals and took them to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Association, which specializes in reintroducing wild animals to their natural habitat.
Since he had refused to kill the animals, Casavant was suspended without pay.
Environment Minister Mary Polak issued a statement on Tuesday calling the situation with Casavant "very sad and unfortunate."
She said the government has launched an investigation into the details surrounding the suspension.
An online petition started by the North Island Wildlife Recovery Association demanding Casavant be reinstated has garnered over 13,000 signatures.
Staff with the wildlife association say they trust the opinion of conservation officers when accepting animals and are stunned by the outcome.
"I think it's unbelievable. If you can't depend on him, there's nobody else," said Robin Campbell, the founder and manager of the association.
Other staff at the association say the bears are being introduced to other bear cubs and are settling in well.
Campbell says the bears have shown no sign of habituation and could be reintroduced to the wild as soon as next summer.
With files from CTV Vancouver

"has the balls to not be a robot by using his own discretion"... in an employment situation, that is called "insubordination" and in most places is grounds for dismissal with cause if the direction given is not illegal or endangering the employee or others.

I'm having some trouble here. Were we for, or against, the bear being shot by the cops in Newmarket a months ago or so instead of waiting for the MNR to show up and remove it?

Sometimes there are too many sheep.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kickingfrog

I'm having some trouble here. Were we for, or against, the bear being shot by the cops in Newmarket a months ago or so instead of waiting for the MNR to show up and remove it?

Sometimes there are too many sheep.

---

Not everything is so black and white.

The cubs are too young to survive without humans feeding them so of course they will imprint onto humans as a food source. Secondly by the time they are released they will have poor survival skills and will be intruding into a wild bear's territory which will not go well. These cubs won't survive long after they get returned into the wild so would it be a more humane end to have a CO kill them instantly with a firearm or have them starve and get shot later as nuisance bears? All of it is a damned shame but nature is cruel and bears are near the top of the food chain in the wild and are territorial. As sad as it is destroying them was probably the logical choice. Black bears are not endangered at all. Dominant male bears kill and eat cubs all the time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kickingfrog

I'm having some trouble here. Were we for, or against, the bear being shot by the cops in Newmarket a months ago or so instead of waiting for the MNR to show up and remove it?

Sometimes there are too many sheep.

---

Same problem. Same solution required.
Bear cubs only stay little and cute for a year - then they are "problem bears".
And unless someone can find a wild bear to adopt these cubs, they will either wind up as bear food or problem bears.
That we let the cuteness of cubs interfere with the practical problem at hand, well blame Walt Disney for that, I guess.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by werner.reiche

Same problem. Same solution required.
Bear cubs only stay little and cute for a year - then they are "problem bears".
And unless someone can find a wild bear to adopt these cubs, they will either wind up as bear food or problem bears.
That we let the cuteness of cubs interfere with the practical problem at hand, well blame Walt Disney for that, I guess.

---

Nope. Blame A. A. Milne & E. H. Shepard

So the tree huggers are up in arms because they only heard part of the story. What about the part before where that same CO had to kill the mother leaving those Cubs orphaned now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by robster

So the tree huggers are up in arms because they only heard part of the story. What about the part before where that same CO had to kill the mother leaving those Cubs orphaned now.

---

Good point. Why didn't they tranquilize the sow and start a trust fund for the entire family? Gotta be Harper's fault again.

Many of the CO's support group have gone silent or are making excuses now that the rest of the story has come out.

Someone took a stand for what he felt was right knowing there could be a reprimand.

That appears to be more then what some would do.

It's a "no win" situation, damned if you do , damned if you don't!

Well, the union stepped in and at least he'll still get his pay while under suspension....

over 44,000 signed the petition in one day...

Quote:

---

A conservation officer who was suspended for refusing to kill two black bear cubs will now receive pay during the suspension, according to the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union.

An online petition started by the North Island Wildlife Recovery Association demanding Casavant be reinstated had garnered more than 44,000 signatures by Wednesday afternoon.

---

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/conserv...cubs-1.2458939

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by robster

So the tree huggers are up in arms because they only heard part of the story. What about the part before where that same CO had to kill the mother leaving those Cubs orphaned now.

---

Was it the same CO that killed the sow? If so, the guy's an complete idiot and should be fired.
If he wanted to take a moral stand, that would have been the time to do it.

As far as the 44,000 people that signed the petition....I'm thinking of Ontario's spring bear hunt ban - just because a bunch of uniformed people support something - doesn't make it right.

Like I said of all those people who petitioned, how many know the whole story? They don't take time to listen just go by a few captions then all hell broke loose!

I find this all a bit weird. Why was he suspended without pay? Was this his first time being insubordinate or did he develop a pattern? Obviously this is insubordination however, is the real problem with his superior? Why the investigation? The fact that his union was able to step in and get him pay while under suspension says a lot. If an employee is in fact guilty of insubordination and said employee was fully in the wrong then a company can discipline him however they feel is justifiable.
Knowing how the media works, we may never know the whole truth.

update:

Well they sort of disciplined him...

wonder how the Unions appeal/arbitration will go.

Quote:

---

Not disciplined, says government
Jamie Edwardson, spokesperson for the B.C. Public Service Agency, said that after reviewing the case, "No employee involved in this case has been subjected to any discipline."

The decision that resulted was to reassign the employee to an equivalent position within government, at no loss of salary, or classification.

But that did not sit well with the union.

"Casavant should not have been suspended, and he should not be transferred from his job as a conservation officer," Smith said, adding she can't disclose the details of his new position in order to allow the office to get on with day-to-day affairs.

---

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08...n_8055838.html

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MikePal

update:

Well they sort of disciplined him...

wonder how the Unions appeal/arbitration will go.



http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08...n_8055838.html

---

I sure hope they didn't permanently assign him to "janitor" status just to make an example of someone.

"Moral" issues (should they have been shot or shouldn't they), imo really have little to do with it.

He refused a direct order and he is a CO, a branch of law enforcement.
Done, end of debate imo.

Can just imagine the uproar if some LEO refused a direct order. How many of our finest stood down during the G20? Or conversely what if the poop had hit the fan, and some sympathetic officers refused orders and let anarchy...

High River?
Whose head should be rolling? Those who carried out their orders, or those who gave the orders?
In fact whose head should have rolled for the G20? Fentons? hardly.There is thing called chain of command. And nowhere is it more important than in......

He doesn't get to decide what is right/wrong, morally right/wrong (for him) once given a direct order.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JBen

He doesn't get to decide what is right/wrong, morally right/wrong (for him) once given a direct order.

---

In the military environment you're only able to refuse a direct order if it is 'unlawful'...if you use that as a bench mark, then he has to be disciplined.

He should've been promoted. He's a hero in most peoples eyes so good for him for standing up to the man. F'k management.

The team system breaks down when the partners can't be trusted to follow orders or the plan. Don't like the plan or the orders being given, look for a process top change them or look for another job. Sounds like he has opted for another job. If he was let away with ignoring his orders....what does that say to others who may be similarly inclined?