B.C. court upholds ‘precedent-setting’ sentence for man who killed bear, cub

A black bear and a cub are seen in this undated stock image. (Shutterstock)

A Vancouver Island wildlife guide will spend up to 30 days in jail and pay thousands of dollars in fines after the B.C. Supreme Court upheld his conviction and sentence for illegally killing a black bear and her cub in Tofino.

Ryan Owen Millar was found guilty of one count of killing a black bear outside of hunting season, and one count of killing a black bear younger than two years old, after he shot the animals with arrows in 2021.

At his sentencing hearing in November 2023, a provincial court judge ordered Millar to surrender the longbow and crossbow he used in the killings, and prohibited him from hunting or possessing weapons for 20 years.

Millar appealed both his conviction and his sentence and was released from custody pending the outcome of the B.C. Supreme Court decision.

On Tuesday, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service announced that the court had denied Millar’s appeal, upholding the convictions and the sentence of 30 days in jail and $11,000 in fines.

“We’re pleased to see the courts dismissed the appeal and agreed with the Crown’s sentencing recommendations,” Sgt. Dan Eichstadter of the BCCOS said in a statement.

“This was the needless poaching of wildlife, and the court’s decision reflects the severity of this crime.”

Read more: B.C. judge finds man guilty of killing black bear and cub near Tofino

The B.C. Prosecution Service says that while Justice Douglas Thompson upheld the custodial sentence and the fines in the case, the judge granted a portion of the appeal that reduced Millar’s hunting prohibition to two years and set aside the ban on possessing weapons.

Millar was convicted of the charges after a three-day trial in June 2023. A witness testified that he and his wife were relaxing in their Tofino vacation rental when they saw Millar shoot the bears out of a tree on a neighbouring property.

The witness told the court he recorded video of Millar hiding the carcass of the younger bear under a tarp before the couple left the rental property because they did not feel safe.

Millar initially denied killing the bears when questioned by police and conservation officers. He later told investigators conflicting stories about defending himself from a bear that had charged at him.

The trial judge ultimately found Millar’s version of events as “fabricated,” noting there was “absolutely no attempt to minimize the harm caused” to the animals.

“Millar simply wanted to kill the two bears, and that is what he did,” the trial judge wrote.

The conservation officer service described the conviction and sentence as a “precedent-setting case for the unlawful killing of a black bear sow and cub.”

The fines include $10,000 to be paid to the Victoria-based Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and $1,000 to the province.

Millar did not appeal the forfeiture order requiring him to surrender the bow and crossbow that were seized by conservation officers.