YouTuber sues B.C. conservation officer, government over alleged profit losses

A black bear stands near the side of Highway 881 near Conklin, Alberta, on May 10, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VANCOUVER — A YouTube hunting personality is suing British Columbia’s Conservation Officer Service alleging one of its officers defamed and targeted him in a “malicious, obsessive and compulsive fashion,” allegedly causing him to lose sponsorship deals.

The B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit says it started in May 2020, when Michel Beaulieu gave a hunting tag to his wife who killed a black bear in the province, believing the “prerequisite tag” could be shared.

The lawsuit says conservation officer Wyatt Pile charged the couple with hunting without proper tags and both pleaded guilty and were fined and given a one-year suspension of their hunting licences in B.C.

Following the hunting incident, the lawsuit alleges Pile “seemed obsessed” and began targeting him in “all aspects of his life,” including reaching out to his sponsors and telling them Beaulieu “was a poacher.”

The lawsuit says that in September 2024, Pile attempted to get “unlawful” and “unwarranted” access to Beaulieu’s home by making “false statements” to Beaulieu’s Realtor and posing as a potential buyer for their property.

The allegations have not been tested in court and the Ministry of Environment, which oversees the conservation service, declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.

The lawsuit alleges that the alleged defamation caused sponsors to cut business ties with Beaulieu, and his YouTube channel to be shut down, while he faced public derision with people calling him “a poacher.”

The lawsuit alleges that Beaulieu suffered financial losses of at least $150,000 due to his YouTube channel closing, and cancellation of internet sponsorship deals worth $120,000.

Beaulieu, and his company Carnivore Studios Inc., also allege they lost money on a “forced urgent sale” of a property “to avoid malicious and unwarranted prosecution.”

This report by Nono Shen, The Canadian Press, was first published March 12, 2025.