Brittany Brown from Rosetown is one of the 21 recruits. Photo by Chelsea Laskowski
Conservation Officer recruits from across western Canada and the Yukon are learning how to safely immobilize wildlife that has been deemed a risk to the public.
This week, 21 recruits at the Western Conservation Law Enforcement Academy were at a Prince Albert shooting range to train in what’s called “wildlife chemical immobilization,” which refers to “chemicals that are used to tranquilize and animal to basically put it to sleep and to relocate it outside the city or town,” said Sergeant Rich Hildebrand.
Over the course of two days, recruits did in-class training as well as target practice with tranquilizer darts at a shooting range in Prince Albert.
“What they’re doing is they’re learning the different types of equipment, chemicals, the animal behavior, safety, things that they have to consider when animals come into the city and when they’re called to use this equipment,” Hildebrand said.
He said the trainees are getting the tools to assess a situation when they get a call about wildlife.
“Public safety is the most important,” he said.
“They also look at the animal itself: where it’s located in the town or city, the type of situation it might be involved in, whether it’s safe to do so, and then from there they determine maybe the injuries of the animal or what condition animal the animal is in.”
He says in 2015 there were 19 tranquilizations in the province, in 2014 there were 33, and in 2013 there were 40.
“This is training to handle those situations when the animals come in – bears, those kind of things – come into the city or town like La Ronge. And so, how to handle it, whether they can just tranquilize it or whether they have to actually put it down,” Hildebrand said.
In February, the newly minted COs will be returning to their jurisdictions across Canada.