A conservation officer who lost his job after refusing to kill two bear cubs is now suing to get his position back.
Bryce Casavant decided against killing the two orphaned black bear cubs while working as a public service conservation officer in British Columbia, Canada, in 2015.
However, he was fired for this decision because it meant going against direct orders - a decision which he has since appealed in court.
As per documents at the Court of Appeal: "Instead of complying with the kill order, he took the cubs to a veterinarian who assessed them and transferred them to the North Island Recovery Centre."
The judge ruled that Casavnt acted lawfully when he made the decision to save the bear cubs, but despite this, he was not allowed to return to his job, and his request to have his badge reactivated and his uniform reissued was rejected.
Casavant is now asking his employer in a lawsuit filed on February 23 to compensate him for all that he has lost in the past five years and to give him his job back.
The Toronto Star reports that Casavnt is also seeking a declaration that he is still a conservation officer in the filing at the British Columbia Supreme Court.
"I have always maintained that a constable cannot be ordered to kill - it's an illegal order. Public service policing has been my passion and chosen career path since my early twenties. It is disgraceful and frustrating to be continually denied the ability to immediately return to my post," Casavant told the publication.
While this was not addressed in the Court of Appeals ruling, Casavant wants the court to reinstate the wages that he has lost over the past five years as a result of the incident.
His lawyer is also requesting the reinstatement of his position with a salary of $55,000 to $75,000.
"Mr. Casavant simply wants the job which was unlawfully taken from him back. The process that was used to take his job was declared void by the Court of Appeal, so there is no lawful basis for the province to deny him that," his lawyer, Arden Beddoes said.