BC Supreme Court upholds first-ever jail sentence for man who killed 2 black bears in his Tofino backyard

Parental advisory: This story contains graphic content of animal cruelty.

“The bears did not die instantly,” wrote Judge Alexander Wolf, who convicted and sentenced Ryan Owen Millar to 30-days in jail and $11,000 fine for illegally killing a mother bear and her cub in his backyard about four and a half years ago.

“They were injured and were in considerable pain before they died. A number of arrows had to be deployed to ‘finish them off’,” wrote Judge Wolf.

Under the Wildlife Act, Judge Wolf also imposed a 20-year hunting ban and 20-year weapons/firearms ban.

Millar appealed the jail sentence, arguing for a conditional jail sentence to be served in community. According to his defence attorney there are no cases in BC where a court imposed a jail sentence for the killing of a black bear.

On April 4, 2025 Millar’s case came to a close as Justice Thompson of the BC Supreme Court upheld the 30-day jail sentence, but allowed Millar’s appeal in part by reducing the 20-year hunting ban to two years. Judge Thompson also “set aside the 20-year weapons/firearms prohibition”, according to the BC Prosecution Service.

BC Prosecution Service went on to say in an email that Millar did not appeal the monetary penalty, with $10,000 of the $11,000 fine ordered to be paid to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, and he did not appeal the forfeiture order that was imposed in provincial court of his recurve bow and cross bow.

Forensic evidence from Dr. Caeley Thacker, a provincial wildlife veterinarian, showed that the adult black bear was a female that was lactating when it was shot with four arrows. The second bear, or cims as the animal is called Nuu-chah-nulth language, was a cub, no more than 50 pounds, under the age of 12-months.

Dr. Thacker’s evidence was not challenged in court.

Millar is a father of two, an experienced hunter, wildlife guide and owner of a Tofino short-term rental. He was raised in South Africa and his father was a conservation officer.

Millar shot the black bears, who were both about 15 feet up a tree, with a long bow on October 14, 2021.

In an “excellent witness” testimony, Thomas Funk told the court he saw Millar use a cross bow to “finish off” the mother bear and then he hid the cub.

Funk was staying at an AirBnB with his spouse and could clearly see Millar from about 20 to 30 feet. He called the police and captured a video of Millar “essentially grabbing the bear by the scruff of the neck and putting him under a tarp”. The video was an exhibit in the trial.

Millar lied to the initial police officer on scene saying, “he knew nothing about any bear being shot,” according to court records. When conservation officers went to investigate, Millar changed his story and told them the bear “came at me”, but Funk says the bears were not being aggressive and Millar made no attempt to scare the bears away.

“Mr. Funk is clear that based on what he saw and heard, Mr. Millar simply saw the bears, went into his house, came back with a bow and crossbow and killed the bears,” wrote Judge Wolf.

Parks Canada scientists estimate that there are about 90 black bears living in a 300 square-kilometre area that includes the Long Beach Unit of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and the Kennedy Flats area. This region is bordered by Tofino to the north, Ucluelet and Hitacu to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Kennedy River and Kennedy Lake to the east.

In 2024, BC Conservation Officers (COs), who are armed law enforcement officers with Special Provincial Constable status under the Police Act, killed 38 black bears on the west coast of Vancouver Island and a total of 303 black bears province wide.

“Through various designations and authorities, including under the Environmental Management Act and Wildlife Act, Conservation Officers are authorized to dispatch or euthanize wildlife in areas where it would be unlawful for the public to use a firearm. For example, CO’s may euthanize an injured animal along a highway or dispatch (kill) a bear in an urban area to ensure public safety, if appropriate to do so,” reads a statement from the Conservation Officer Service.

BC COS says there is no open season for wildlife within 100 meters of a dwelling or occupied outbuilding, nor is there an open season for a black bear less than two years of age, or a bear in its company.

A $100,000 fine and up to one year in jail are both potential penalties for the offences.

“No one should take it upon themselves to needlessly destroy wildlife. We ask people to call us if they have a concern. It’s not lawful to take matters into your own hands,” said COS Sgt. Dan Eichstadter in a written statement released after Millar’s 2023 sentencing. “We’d also like to thank the witnesses who immediately reported their concerns to authorities and initiated this investigation.”

Black bears play a culturally significant role in Indigenous culture across Canada. In a statement given to CO Eichstadter for Millar’s sentencing, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation elder Dr. Barney Williams said black bears represent the qualities of “courage and strength in spirit”.

“Communities do not hunt these animals because of the symbolic connection to courage and strength, and the animals hold a special connection spiritually to all members of the Nation,” wrote Dr. Williams.

“Pre-contact in First Nations law, punishment for killing a cims (bear) not out of necessity could mean banishment or being taken out into the wilderness with an elder to receive teachings and become grounded with nature again,” Dr. Williams continued.

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation elder Moses Martin, 84, owns and operates Clayoquot Wild, a longtime bear and whale watching company based in Tofino.

He says he’s done a lot of hunting in his younger years, mostly for deer and harbour seal, but never for black bears.

“I’d never take a mom bear or baby bear,” he told Ha-Shilth-Sa. “For us, that’s not the right thing to do. I’ve been four or five feet away from a bear and they didn’t bother me so I didn’t bother them,” said Martin.

To report poaching or other unlawful activities, call the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) hotline at 1-877-952-7277.