Rewards Policy

The Fur-Bearers is aware that incidents involving cruelty towards wildlife occur. 

Under the Criminal Code of Canada (section 445.1 ), it an offense to cause unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal, this includes wildlife. Depending on the specific case, provincial and municipal legislation may also apply.

As part of our mandate to protect fur-bearing animals in the wild and confinement, The Fur-Bearers will, on a case-by case basis, offer a monetary reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individual(s) responsible for causing cruelty and distress to wildlife, acts of poaching, or other illegal acts towards wildlife.

The rewards often work to help increase media attention and shine a spotlight on animal cruelty in hopes to prevent it from re-occurring.

To help us hold animal abusers accountable, the public is invited to contribute towards our reward program. Contributions to rewards will be made via donation. Until such time that a reward is paid out, the donation will be added to our education program budgets to promote coexistence with wildlife. These programs are an essential component to help prevent cruelty towards wildlife from occurring in the first place. Should an issuance of a reward result in a conviction, the value of the reward will be paid to the individual(s) who provided information leading to the identification and conviction of those responsible.

All contributions to the reward will be kept anonymous unless the donor specifically requests to disclose their name and amount. If a donor would like to disclose their name, confirm if they want their information disclosed in the blog post, news release, or both. Donor’s names should not be posted on social media.

Payouts

To receive a reward, a person must have contacted law enforcement with relevant information to further the purposes of the investigation, leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible. If a conviction occurs and the person claiming the reward contacts The Fur-Bearers, we will direct the individual to contact the enforcement agency and consent to have their information disclosed to The Fur-Bearers. The Fur-Bearers will review the information provided and can verify with the agency if necessary.

This policy was approved by the Board of Directors in September 2022.