Garbage continues to be an attractant for bears around the region. With up to 60 complaints about bears to the Powell River Conservation Officer Service since the beginning of May, conservation officers Gerry Lister and Andrew Anaka have been busy calling on people to change their habits.
Anaka is frustrated the message about dealing with garbage appropriately has just not hit home for some people. “We have been worked off our feet the last month,” he said. “Sightings are absolutely everywhere around town. This is shaping up to be a banner year for bears.”
Powell River is on the edge of prime black bear habitat, and there are many fingers and pockets of habitat that extend into the city. The rural areas are completely surrounded by this same habitat.
“Bears can smell garbage and other potential food sources over great distances,” said Lister. “A bear is looking for the easiest meal it can find. When bears learn that garbage is food, they will come back again and again.”
Each year the conservation officers remind the public that management of attractants is the number one way to reduce conflicts with bears in the community. “It is not the bear’s fault that it gets into unsecured garbage, smelly compost piles, bird feeders and other attractants,” he said. “No one can control a bear’s behaviour, so residents must control access to the attractants.” Information about attractants is available online.
When people call with a bear concern, conservation officers will generally only attend when there is an immediate threat to human safety or where the bear has become so highly conditioned that there is no option left but to destroy the bear.
“Unfortunately, many people think that conservation officers will simply arrive with a bear trap, catch the bear and haul it away to a new home,” said Lister. “This is not what will happen.” Relocation is rarely an option and is usually unsuccessful—a bear that has been accessing un-natural food will continue to seek it. “An old Bear Aware slogan was ‘a fed bear is a dead bear,’” he added. “Harsh at it sounds, it is all too true.”
Last year six bears were destroyed in the area as a result of being conditioned to human generated food sources or for being an immediate public safety concern. “Two bears, both food conditioned, have been destroyed already this year, and the season is hardly a month old.”
One of the most simple measures residents can take in removing attractants is to ensure garbage is not left outside until it is put curbside on the morning of collection. If stored in a garage or shed, the garbage should be double-bagged to reduce odour.
When education and common sense fail, a more hard lined approach may be necessary. The Wildlife Act provides tools to manage the behaviour of the public with regard to attractants. Under the act, a conservation officer can, upon reasonable grounds, enter and search private property to inspect for attractants. Enforcement action can be undertaken against individuals who make attractants available to bears, either intentionally or through negligence.
“Bears are designated as ‘dangerous wildlife,’” said Lister. “Section 33.1 of the Wildlife Act prohibits anyone from intentionally feeding or attracting dangerous wildlife, or from placing or leaving potential attractants in a location, accessible to dangerous wildlife, where there are likely to be people.” Officers can issue a violation ticket of $345 or send a person to court for these offences.
Alternatively, an officer may issue a Dangerous Wildlife Protection order to someone responsible for land or premises, ordering them to contain, move or remove bear attractants within a specified period of time. An example would be someone who refuses to store their garbage cans securely. Failing to obey this order will result in a $575 fine or attendance in court.
Conservation officers would prefer to have people be responsible with their bear attractants so that they and their neighbours remain safe, and bears do not die needlessly. However, “enforcement action may become necessary if people continue to ignore our message, or act in a reckless, careless or negligent manner,” said Lister.
To report human-wildlife conflict, or report people unlawfully feeding or attracting bears, readers can contact the 24-hour reporting line at 1.877.952.7277.
