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Nila Abasian
Alireza Moghimehfar
Late summer, the worst time of the year for black bears having to be put down,\nis approaching.\n\nAn environmental group called the Fur-Bearers tracks statistics of bears killed\nby conservation officers each year, and the association has found that September\nis an especially dangerous time of year for bears that are on the search for\nfood. In 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2021, September was\nthe month with the most bears killed by conservation officers in British\nColumbia, and in 2017, 2022 and 2023, it was the second-deadliest month for\nbears.\n\nDuring all of last year, 303 black bears were put down across B.C., with two\nbears killed in Nanaimo.\n\nBlack bears are killed by conservation officers if they becomes listed as\n'Category 1' and an investigation determines they are either a serious threat to\npublic safety, significant property damage has occurred, or the bear is injured\nor suffering from distressed health.\n\nAccording to BCCOS guidelines,\n[https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/natural-resource-policy-legislation/fish-and-wildlife-policy/response_guidelines_black_bear_single.pdf?utm_source=nanaimo%20news%20bulletin&utm_campaign=nanaimo%20news%20bulletin%3A%20outbound&utm_medium=referral] animals\nlisted in Category 1 include those that have attacked, injured or killed humans,\ndomestic pets or livestock, and may also include bears that have entered\ntemporary or permanent dwellings.\n\n"Generally speaking, Nanaimo compared to other municipalities ranks lower on the\nlists of black bears that are killed by the conservation officer service,"\nsaid Lesley Fox, executive director of the Fur-Bearers. "However, Nanaimo\ncertainly isn't out of the woods, black bears are common on Vancouver Island and\ndo find their way through Nanaimo and even the regional district, it's not\nuncommon to see a black bear in Nanaimo or surrounding areas."\n\nDuring the summer, Fox said residents with fruit trees can plan ahead. Those\nwith fruit trees on the land who don't expect to be able to pick them all in a\ntimely manner can connect with a local gleaning program which involves\nvolunteers collecting unwanted fruit from trees and gardens that would otherwise\ngo to waste. \n\n"It's a great way to promote food security and also helps homeowners manage\ntheir harvest, because it can be a lot of work to manage their fruit…" Fox said.\n"People just need to be proactive and start making arrangements now, that way\nthey're prepared at the end of summer."\n\nIn Nanaimo, since 2003 there has been a gleaning program\n[https://nanaimocommunitygardens.ca/gleaning/] organized in partnership\nby Nanaimo Foodshare Society and Nanaimo Community Gardens, which can be reached\nat 250-816-4769.\n\nReducing attractants is another method people can use reduce the number of\nnegative encounters between people and bears.\n\n"Clean up your attractants, we don't want animals getting into the garbage\nbecause they get injured or get sick."\n\nEarlier this year, RDN staff and directors discussed several incidents involving\nbears utilizing organic carts as food sources. Additionally other animals are\nbecoming habituated to collection carts that have been set out early on\ncollection day or left out late.\n\nFox said a bear becoming accustomed to going through trash is highly\npreventable, and non-compliance issues might be an opportunity for a district to\ntake a zero-tolerance approach.\n\n"Co-existence is a daily intention, and attractant management, being bear-aware,\nthose are daily intentions and sometimes people, businesses and even bylaw can\nget complacent, we can get lazy."\n\n \n\n2024black-bears-killed-in-nanaimo-by-conservation-officers\n[https://www.bpmcdn.com/f/files/nanaimo/2024black-bears-killed-in-nanaimo-by-conservation-officers.jpg;w=960]\n\nFrom 2015 to 2024, the lowest year for bears killed by conservation officers in\nNanaimo was 2020, with zero deaths, while the highest was in 2022 with 10. \n\nIn terms of provincial numbers, 303 in 2024 is a sharp decline from 603 in\n2023. Fox said while the number is lower than the previous year, she still\nperceives hundreds of dead bears as a government, education and enforcement\nfailure.\n\n"It almost should be perceived like you see statistics sometimes for workplace\ninjury, the goal is zero. We should target zero, and that might sound\nunrealistic to some, but that's the ideal and we should be working towards\nthat," she said. "Until we can start seeing a decrease that's measurable\nyear after year after year, I'm not feeling overly optimistic or encouraged."\n\nThe biggest message she said people should take away is black bears are not to\nbe feared, but people should be respectful and give a bear the space it needs. \n\n"There's a lot of misinformation that can paint a picture that black bears are\nsomehow aggressive or problematic. The reality is they're a native species, they\nbelong on the landscape, black bears are extremely intelligent, they're curious,\nthey have tight family bonds – especially a mother and her cubs. They belong\nhere. Demonstrating some tolerance and compassion for these animals can go a\nlong way."
