Discovery Wildlife Park owners plead guilty to two charges under Wildlife Act

Five hundred dollars in fines have been levied against a central Alberta zoo after its owners pled guilty in Red Deer traffic court on Monday for failing to notify Alberta Fish and Wildlife it would be taking one of its bears off-site.

Doug Bos and Debra Rowland, owners of Discovery Wildlife Park in Innisfail pleaded guilty to two counts under section 12(3) of the Wildlife Act which states that a person shall not contravene the terms or conditions of a license or permit.

The business was fined $250 for each of the charges which were in relation to multiple incidents in 2017 where an employee brought an orphaned bear cub home to foster between April and August of last year, as well as an incident on January 14, 2018 where Berkley the bear was taken through a Dairy Queen drive-thru in Innisfail.

Doug Bos told court they are embarrassed about the incident but would like to thank Alberta Fish and Wildlife for doing their job.