Sunshine Coast man fined $900 after letting bear family feast on grain
A man living on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast has been fined $900 after letting a family of bears feast on a pile of grain outside his home.
The incident happened in April 2020, but only recently made its way through the court process, resulting in a stiff fine for attracting dangerous wildlife to a premises.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service said it was alerted the what happened by social media images showing a bear and cub mowing down on a significant quantity of grain that was spread on the ground.
Const. Leyland Klassen told CTV News some of the grain was in a pot that the bears apparently knocked over, but that there was an additional pile of grain left unprotected nearby. It's unclear why the attractants were left outside.
"The fact of the matter was the grain was out there," Klassen said, adding that the resident also failed to respond appropriately after the bears began feeding.
"It basically elevated beyond regular carelessness because there was no action taken after the fact to try and rectify the problem. It was left out essentially all day long."
The constable suggested the man responsible may have taken the position that "they're cleaning it up for me, so why would I stop them?"
Conservation officers were already on the alert because a family of bears had recently approached two children in a local backyard. Klassen said it's impossible to know for sure, but they believe the same bears were involved in both incidents.
There were additional bear conflicts in the area after the grain feeding frenzy, but the animals eventually left Sechelt on their own before becoming too habituated to humans.
Klassen said it could have gone much worse, as "leaving grain out like that is going to start a bear down the wrong path."
"At the end of the day, bears are looking for food, which is their natural behaviour. The ball is in the public's court to keep non-natural food away from them so they go for the natural stuff," he said.
People living near bear habitats should always manage their attractants, Klassen said. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service asked anyone who spots a property with unprotected attractants lying out to call the Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline at 1-877-952-7277.
Tips on how to respond after encountering a bear are available on the B.C. government's website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.