Close X
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
ADVT 
National

Court finds man not justified in killing Bear the Chihuahua in Boston Bar

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Oct, 2024 04:24 PM
  • Court finds man not justified in killing Bear the Chihuahua in Boston Bar

A British Columbia provincial court judge has ruled that a Boston Bar man who shot a tea-cup Chihuahua named Bear claiming it was menacing his chickens was not justified in killing the animal. 

The court said in a ruling published online that Behrouz Rahmani Far had been in a bitter, years-long feud with the dog's owner, his neighbour Glenn Kurack. 

"By all accounts, the two do not get along," Judge Peter Whyte said last month in Chilliwack provincial court. 

Kurack, the ruling said, was under a court order not to have any contact with Rahmani Far after being convicted of assault at the time of the trial. 

The ruling said the pair had made numerous complaints to police about each other over the years, and part of their dispute "centred" on Kurack's dogs. 

Rahmani Far keeps about 60 chickens and the tiny dog had roamed onto the man's property several times leading up to March 3, 2022, when Far used a .22 calibre rifle to shoot the male dog in the head, the ruling said. 

The ruling says Rahmani Far called police and reported that he shot the dog to "bring peace" to his life, and believed that B.C.'s Livestock Act allowed him to kill the animal because it was "threatening his chickens." 

"He initially said he did not kill Bear to protect his chickens, but rather to protect his family," the ruling says. "He said he regretted having to take such a drastic measure, but felt he had no other choice." 

The court found the law doesn't apply to chickens, and that Bear wasn't an "imminent risk," as it convicted Rahmani Far of killing or injuring an animal.

Whyte said the man shot Bear not because of the danger to his family or chickens, but rather his ongoing anger at his neighbour and frustration with police, who he said weren't fixing the problem.

"He had simply had enough, and determined that he would resolve the matter by taking it into his own hands," Whyte's ruling said. "He told the RCMP that if a dog came back on his property, he would shoot it. He expressed frustration at what he perceived was inaction on the part of the RCMP to deal with his concern about the dogs."

Whyte's ruling said Rahmani Far didn't attempt to "scare or shoot the dog away" when he found it on his property the day of the shooting. 

"This was because, at the time he retrieved his rifle, he had made a final decision to deal with the issue once and for all," Whyte said. "In his own words, he had 'had enough.'" 

Glenn Kurack said in an interview on Tuesday that his relationship with his neighbour soured quickly after they began living next to each other years ago, with troubles over parking access and a dispute over payment for electrical work that he had done for Rahmani Far. 

He said he adopted Bear and another Chihuahua after his ex-wife died, and she had paid about $6,000 for the breeding pair. 

Kurack said he bought his property at an "awesome time," when prices were more affordable, and the feud with his neighbour has friends and family encouraging him to move away. 

"Everybody thinks I should just sell my place and move. I own my own house. My house is the only house in town that's solar powered," he said. "I can't move anywhere else that's cheaper than where I am."

Rahmani Far's defence lawyer did not respond to a request for comment on the case, and the Boston Bar RCMP detachment did not return a call for comment about the ongoing feud. 

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Port Moody police get digital crisis tool for mental health, addiction calls

Port Moody police get digital crisis tool for mental health, addiction calls
Police officers in Port Moody, B.C., are about to start using a digital public safety system to de-escalate and navigate situations that involve mental health and addiction, Mike Farnworth, solicitor general and public safety minister, said Wednesday. 

Port Moody police get digital crisis tool for mental health, addiction calls

BOC holds key interest rate at 5%

BOC holds key interest rate at 5%
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says we've come a long way in our fight against high inflation but it's still too soon to start lowering interest rates. The central bank has done as expected and kept its key interest rate steady at five per cent.

BOC holds key interest rate at 5%

'I'm too far away': Five Canadians dead in plane that crashed near downtown Nashville

'I'm too far away': Five Canadians dead in plane that crashed near downtown Nashville
The pilot of a single-engine plane that crashed near downtown Nashville told air traffic controllers he could see the runway they were clearing for an emergency landing. But he said he couldn’t reach it. The pilot had another adult and three children on board, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Aaron McCarter said at a Tuesday news conference. He said the five were Canadian citizens and the agency is working with the Canadian government to determine their identities. 

'I'm too far away': Five Canadians dead in plane that crashed near downtown Nashville

Re-arrest for Vancouver sex offender

Re-arrest for Vancouver sex offender
Vancouver police say a high-risk sex offender who was serving a five-year long-term supervision order was rearrested last week. Police had issued a public warning on February 26th that Skylar Wayne Pelletier had been released from custody and was living in Vancouver. The 24-year-old was previously convicted of sexual assault, assault, and break and enter.

Re-arrest for Vancouver sex offender

Grandparent scam in Kelowna

Grandparent scam in Kelowna
Kelowna RCMP say they are looking for a woman who's involved in a recent scam targeting the elderly. Police say the suspect reportedly took money from an elderly woman after someone pretending to be an officer called the victim about her grandson being arrested and needing to pay a bond.

Grandparent scam in Kelowna

B.C.'s securities watchdog fined rule breakers $430M. Why can't it make them pay?

B.C.'s securities watchdog fined rule breakers $430M. Why can't it make them pay?
Thalbinder Singh Poonian and Shailu Poonian claim they'll be in debt to the commission "likely for life," owing about $19 million after being found to have engaged in market manipulation of a company's stock in 2015. The commission ruled the couple boosted the price of OSE Corp. on the Toronto Stock Exchange by trading among themselves, relatives, friends and acquaintances, then sold the shares at the inflated prices to unsuspecting buyers.

B.C.'s securities watchdog fined rule breakers $430M. Why can't it make them pay?