Soft summer breezes, the sweet heady smell of flowers in the sun and the buzzing of, not bees, but electric fences.
Apparently, electric fences are the secret to keeping bears and other unwanted wildlife out of backyard composts, chicken coops and beehives. And what’s more, in some parts of BC, bear-proof fences are mandatory for urban food producers.
A 6,000-volt zap on the nose is thought to help transform any compost seeking bear into a well-behaved, berry eating woodland citizen. However, could using an electric fence provide a false sense of security for homeowners? Why spend a day picking produce off a ripe fruit tree when surrounding it with an electric fence will allow for a day at the lake?
Good citizens know that bear control starts and ends with common sense, not electricity.
An electric fence need not be the only line of defence and a fence will not deter a bear from coming into town in the first place. Bears are habitual. They have their tracks and trails through yards, neighbourhoods and towns. Those habits can often lead them into interactions with humans.
There are, however, a whole slew of things sensible citizens can do to reduce the amount of time bears remain on a property. For example, putting out garbage the day of collection and using bear-proof bins. Other suggestions are not to leave pet food outside; remove bird feeders during the warmer months; clean the barbecue whenever it is used; ensure compost is working efficiently and not producing odours; pick fruit as soon as it is ripe.
Imagine, if bears had enough to eat in the woods would they even need to search out sustenance in town? Perhaps protecting the true wilderness from destruction might keep bears out of residential areas. After all, electric fences can’t incentivize bears back to the great outdoors if there isn’t any great outdoors left.
Rather than fiddling with electric fences, save the wilderness before it is gone.
A bear kept in the forest is worth two zapped with an electric fence in town.
So live and let live. Let bears have the wilderness and keep the buzzing restricted to the bees rather than fences.
A backyard should be a place of peace, not a prison.
