Conservation Officers
Job description
These individuals are responsible for enforcing laws that protect wild fauna and its habitats. They inform users of the best hunting and fishing practices and the rules to respect in wildlife areas. They patrol an entire territory by truck, aircraft, boat, or on foot. They find sick, injured, or killed animals and deal with them. They receive and process alerts from the public. They work for:
- Hunting and fishing outfitters
- Zones d’exploitation contrôlée (ZEC [controlled zones])
- Nature interpretation centres
- Forest educative centres
- Companies offering hands-on natural science activities
- Adventure and outdoor tourism companies
- The federal and provincial governments
- Regional county municipalities (RCMs) (regional parks)
- Zoological gardens
Environment
- Climatic conditions
- Uncontrolled ambient temperature
- Hazardous workplaces
- Violence
- Falling objects
Main tasks
- Investigate poaching and carry out anti-poaching operations.
- Search and seize illegal weapons.
- Report fires and oil spills to the authorities.
- Deal with animals that endanger the public.
- Raise public awareness of biodiversity conservation.
- Organize and lead prevention-focused educational events for the public.
- Draft reports.
Advancement and mobility
- Experience leads to specialized and supervisory positions.
Training and requirements
Formation
Also required
- No criminal record.
- Successful completion of medical and eye exams.
- Successful completion of physical aptitude tests.
- Class 4A (emergency vehicles) driver's licence.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Information processing
- Monitoring operations
- Judgment and decision-making
- Coordination
- Social perception
- Active learning
- Persuasion
- Oral expression
- Written expression
- Solving complex problems
- Reading comprehension
- Teaching
- Critical thought
- Equipment selection
- Negotiation
- Service oriented
- Material resource management
- Repair
Abilities
- Endurance
- Overall balance of the body
- Reaction time
- Overall coordination of the body
- Limb coordination
- Response orientation
- Perception speed
- Near vision
- Awareness of issues
- Speed control
- Distance vision
- Spatial orientation
- Peripheral vision
- Dynamic strength
- Limb movement speed
- Manual dexterity
- Explosive strength
- Written comprehension
- Deductive reasoning
- Inductive reasoning
- Oral comprehension
- Information processing speed
- Verbal skills
- Memorization
- Sound origin identification
- Classification
- Dynamic physical flexibility
- Speech clarity
- Speech recognition
- Depth perception
- Colour perception and distinction
- Static muscle power
- Tolerance to bright light
- Night vision
- Written expression
- Hearing sensitivity
- Hand-arm stability
- Control accuracy
Knowledge and attributes
- Autonomy
- Sense of responsibility
- Capacity to influence and mobilize
- Capacity to adapt
- Tolerance to stress
- Respect standards and regulations
- Sense of observation
- Knowledge of public safety and security
- Tolerance to frequent temperature variations
- Knowledge of biology
Interests
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Watch, defend, and secure
- Work manually
- Work in contact with nature and animals
- Collect, verify, sort, and classify data or information
- Exercer une activité sportive ou physique
- Work outdoors
- Teach or educate
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Realistic
- People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Enterprising
- People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
Appellation d'emploi liée (à traduire)
Conservation and fishery officers (CNP 22113)
Skill type
Natural resources, agriculture and related production
Related occupations
- Agricultural and fish products inspectors
- Biological technologists and technicians
- Conservation and fishery officers
- Forestry technologists and technicians
- Outdoor sport and recreational guides
- Pet groomers and animal care workers
- Registrars, restorers, interpreters and other occupations related to museum and art galleries
Last update: February 14, 2024