A business in West Kelowna was charged after six bears were euthanized within three days after continuous littering in an area around Lake Okanagan Resort.
According to nature protection officer Jeff Hanratty, officials had to kill three bears on Sunday, one on Monday and two on Tuesday for safety reasons.
“We had a group of bears accustomed and food-conditioned to unnatural food sources that had become a threat to the public,” Hanratty said.
“We had a witness who was charged twice by the black bears, we had bears on balconies that had access to garbage and food, and there was a report of a bear pushing against a window.
“So these bears were a high risk to the public and as a result, the bears were destroyed.”
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Hanratty said the COs had no choice but to shoot the bears. If the bears had been moved to their natural habitat, they would have a very good chance of returning.
As of June this year, 97 black bears have been euthanized by the BC Wildlife Service across the province mainly for safety reasons.
“The problem with bears having access to unnatural food sources is that they can become food-dependent,” said Meg Bjordal, coordinator of Wildlife BC Okanagan.
“Once they are food conditioned, they can get used to humans very quickly, which actually starts them associating humans with food, and then they begin to tolerate humans in close proximity to both humans and bears for sure is.”
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Hanratty said the West Kelowna business is being prosecuted and an order has been issued to protect dangerous wildlife.
Conservation officers will prosecute under the Wildlife Act if anyone is caught attracting dangerous wildlife. It’s a $ 130 ticket to attract dangerous wildlife.
The public is encouraged to report dangerous wildlife to the Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline at 1-877-952-7277.
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