Forty-seven black bears have been 鈥渓ethally removed鈥 from West sa国际传媒 since 2016, city councillors heard this week.聽
鈥淢ost of these bears had histories of accessing garbage, or other attractants, and were considered highly-food conditioned and and human-habituated,鈥 Vanessa Isnardy of WildSafeBC told council.
Bears can be a particular problem in West sa国际传媒 given its position framed to the north, west, and south by mountainous areas, she said.
The neighbourhoods of Shannon Lake, West sa国际传媒 Estates/Rose Valley, and Glenrosa, on the citysa国际传媒 outer edges, are where most bear problems occur, council heard.聽
In 2021 and 2022, 25 bears believed to pose a danger were destroyed by conservation officers.聽"It's not a good record for us here in West sa国际传媒," Coun. Stephen Johnston said.
Bear problems are expected to worsen in the coming years with the anticipated addition of almost 5,400 new homes in West sa国际传媒 by 2040.聽
鈥淚n addition, the Central Okanagan Regional District is considering providing food waste collection to residents in the region which will affect how organics are stored by residents and potential access by bears,鈥 Isnardy.
The city should consider implementing a wide range of bear-prevention strategies, council heard, with recommendations that include:聽
- require bear-resistant garbage areas for all new residential developments
- increase fines for bylaws that stipulate garbage should only be left on the curb on the morning of the pick-up day, not the night before聽
- replace non-bear resistant garbage containers in city parks with receptacles that can defeat the bruins聽
鈥淚 like what I鈥檝e heard from you today,鈥 said Coun. Rick De Jong, saying he would favour tougher anti-bear bylaws for the municipality.
鈥淲e need to do more as a city to help reduce the number of preventable human-bear conflicts,鈥 said Mayor Gord Milsom.聽
His motion to have聽staff report back on ways to mitigate the problem passed.聽
The 鈥楤ear Hazard Assessment鈥 presented to council runs to almost 100 pages.聽
