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Controversy over bear cub shooting

Seven month old was one of three bears destroyed last week
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The shooting of Beari the bear cub by Conservation Officers last week has taken a controversial twist, with the Get Bear Smart Society stating that they do not support what happened.

“I am shocked and saddened by the news,” said Sylvia Dolson, director of the Get Bear Smart Society (GBS).

“Killing a 10 pound, seven month old cub is unacceptable, both morally and ethically. It is unjustified and unnecessary,” she said.

Dolson added that GBS is asking the Minister of Environment to undergo an investigation into the recent killings of a dozen other cubs across the province.

Beari was destroyed, along with her mother Juniper, mid-afternoon on Thursday July 12 th after breaking into a residence in Whistler Cay.

Conservation Officer Dave Jeavons was on his way up to the area when he got the call.

“From what I gathered before I got there, the sow and cub were eating food from the kitchen in the back of the house,” said Jeavons.

“Then the sow — with or without the cub, I don’t know for sure — entered the house, and when she exited, she was shot,” he said.

The RCMP also attended the scene, and by the time Jeavons arrived, the sow was dead. Jeavons then shot Beari, who had climbed up a tree.

“There are a lot of factors to consider with how to handle cubs. This particular cub was a conflict animal, whereas cubs that have been abandoned are usually the ones put into rehab institutes like Critter Care,” said Jeavons.

Jeavons added that the cub had learned a lot of aggressive behaviour from its mother. Both had an extensive history of entering residences and approaching people.

“It is extremely unusual for a cub to not have a fear of humans. The behaviour was inappropriate. The sow and cub were both very habituated to people and very conditioned to garbage,” said Jeavons.

“It is always unfortunate when this happens. It is not something you ever want to do. But you have to keep in mind that it is our responsibility to protect public safety,” he said.

He added that he does not think he could have tranquilized the cub without killing it because of its position in the tree.

Dolson argued that Conservation Officers should have allowed the cub to live.

“It is just plain wrong. There is no acceptable argument to justify it. They had no right to take that bear’s life. The bear did nothing wrong. She was still nursing,” said Dolson.

Dolson said the idea that mother bears teach their young to get into conflict situations is a widely held misconception. No data has shown that a mother’s behaviour will cause a cub to exhibit conflict behaviour later on in life.

“The Ministry of Environment’s policy is that if a bear enters a Whistler home, it is destroyed. The policy on orphan cubs, however, is to send them to rehab, not to shoot them,” said Dolson.

“If the cub grew up to be a conflict animal, then it could be dealt with. But it should have been given a chance,” she said, adding that rehab centres are privately owned and therefore do not cost taxpayers money.

Moreover, Dolson said Conservation Officers should have waited until the cub came down from the tree to tranquilize it safely instead of simply killing it.

“A little cub up a tree is not an urgent situation that needs to be dealt with,” she added.

The two Whistler Cay bears had a history of getting into conflict situations with humans this summer, including raiding golf carts and golf bags for food while people were playing golf and breaking into six residences for garbage.

The mother also was regularly seen at the base of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. Attempts were being made to capture and radio-collar her for an aversive conditioning program, but the research team was unable to trap her.

Beari and her mother were not the only bears killed in the Whistler area last week. An older female bear named Millie was also killed by Conservation Officers in Function Junction on Wednesday, July 11th.

The 20-year-old had a history of aggressive behaviour, including breaking into five businesses in the area, bluff charging people on the trail, and on one occasion, not letting people back into their cars. In fact last month, based on her aggressive behaviour, Conservation Officers tagged her with two pink ear tags and gave her a hard release.

“When we got the call on Wednesday, she was breaking into a vehicle, and you could actually hear the glass breaking in the background over the phone,” said Jeavons.

After breaking into the car, the bear bluff charged someone in Function and was later found on the trail. Based on her level of aggression and number of entries, she was destroyed.

Jeavons said the three bears killed last week accounted for a large percentage of the calls received by Conservation Officers in the past month.

“I would imagine that there should be less calls. But the berry crop will determine a lot of that too. If it is not a good berry year, chances are there will be more bears seen looking for garbage,” he said.

He added that three bears killed in one week is unusual, but probably has to do with the fact that it is the time of year when things get busier with bears.

Prior to last week, Conservation Officers had killed three black bears in the Whistler area this season for coming into conflict situations with humans. One bear was involved in a motor vehicle accident, and the other two were responsible for break ins.

A total of nine bears were killed last year.

To report a black bear incident where public safety is at risk, call the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.