Michel Beaulieu, pictured with his wife Lynn, claims a BC Conservation officer targeted him in a "malicious" manner in a recent BC lawsuit.

Image Credit: INSTAGRAM/Alpine Carnivore

A hunting show host's lawsuit claims a BC conservation officer searched his home without a warrant.

Michel Beaulieu was convicted of multiple wildlife offences, both in B.C. and Alberta, but he claims he was unduly and "maliciously" targeted by one conservation officer investigating him.

The claims are documented in a newly-filed lawsuit in which the "Alpine Carnivore" show host said the officer "seemed to become obsessed" with him.

The lawsuit comes more than a year after B.C. and Alberta wildlife law enforcement announced combined fines of more than $30,000 against Beaulieu and his wife. They were accused of "cross-border poaching" and having "blatant disregard" for wildlife laws.

Though similar in name, Beaulieu's show is not the same as "Backcountry Carnivores," which was a social media influencer page connected to separate charges recently announced by the BC Conservation Officer Service.

Beaulieu's first run-in with the BC Conservation Officers Service was in 2020 when he and and his wife killed a black bear. He had the tag and allowed her to use it, but their licences were suspended for a year because sharing that tag was illegal. Later that year, he was late to file a specific licence with the province, which landed him additional fees.

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Around two years later, the conservation officer, identified as Wyatt Pile in court documents, began scouring Beaulieu's activity and hunting history "in a malicious, obsessive and compulsive fashion, without reasonable justification" so he could "improperly prosecute" Beaulieu, the lawsuit claims.

The officer contacted Beaulieu to inform him additional charges were being issued for the late filing, despite having already paid fees. Pile "downplayed" the charges and compared them to a traffic ticket, according to the notice of claim.

It resulted in a $4,500 fine for Bealieu and $2,000 fine for his wife, announced in February 2024.

"Had it not been for the deliberate misleading information by Pile and Beaulieu's understanding that a small additional fine was agreed to resolve the matter, Beaulieu would not have acknowledged guilt and would have disputed the charges, based on the fact that they had already paid the associated fees for the late filing of the host licenses," the civil claim reads.

It was announced in conjunction with more than $25,000 fines from Alberta in which Beaulieu, in one case, unlawfully killed a sheep.

The investigation efforts in B.C. didn't end when the fines were announced.

The BC Conservation Officer Service sought to extend his licence suspension for another two years later that month, which was successful.

He had another conversation with Pile in August 2024 when the officer said Beaulieu "got off easy" for the bear and the licence fees, so he'd be "pushing for a much longer suspension."

At some point that year, the BC Conservation Officer Service executed two search warrants on Beaulieu's home and his office. No evidence related to poaching was found, according to the lawsuit.

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The officer from the Prince George area then sought to search Beaulieu's Beaverdell area home in September. This time without a warrant, according to the claim.

Pile went to the rural home 45 minutes from Kelowna when the Beaulieus weren't home, posing as a potential buyer for their realtor, according to the claim. It was an "attempt to perform an unlawful search," though it's not clear from the lawsuit whether he managed to enter the home or not.

The home was for sale because the Beaulieus moved to Alberta in an effort to escape the officer's "constant harassment and threats," according to the lawsuit.

Their complaints to the ministry and the BC Conservation Officer Service have not resulted in any action, according to the lawsuit.

Beaulieu's lawsuit, filed under the company name Carnivore Studios Inc., alleges Pile's behaviour was a breach of his Charter Rights and it amounts to "misfeasance in public office."

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He also claims both the BC Conservation Officer Service and Pile defamed him. The claim against the service is due to what he says are untrue claims about unlawful animal kills in BC, while Pile is accused of interfering with his business by contacting sponsors and wildlife organizations beginning in 2021.

The "Alpine Carnivore" host claims around $3 million in damages, with the bulk due to alleged interference with his business.

He is also asking the court to reduce his hunting licence suspension from three years to one year.

iNFOnews.ca reached out to Pile through his BC government email address, but did not receive a response. The BC Conservation Officer Service and the Ministry of Environment said it would not comment because it's now before the courts.

Beaulieu also did not respond to a request for comment. His most recent social media post on the "Alpine Carnivore" page does acknowledge he broke wildlife laws in both B.C. and Alberta, but he said it was not intentional, rather, it was his lack of knowledge as a relatively new hunter.

"I'm not here telling you guys I'm without guilt, because that's not true," he said in a video. "I never intended to poach. There's no reason for me to want to break laws. I have, but none of it was done on purpose. None of it was done with malicious intent."

He went on to apologize to his audience, then said his job as a show host and new hunter was intended to be a learning experience. The goal was to get the audience to "learn with me," he said.

"It's truly terrible and I should know better," he said.

The video, posted in February 2024, did not detail any of his alleged dealings with Pile.

None of the claims have been proven in court.

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