In an effort to avoid teddy bear picnics within the district, Sicamous will be implementing a Wildlife Attractant Bylaw.
Coun. Siobhan Rich brought the matter to the June 26 Committee of the Whole meeting, explaining that she's had a few calls from local conservation officers encouraging the district to look into a bylaw which, in turn, would make their job a bit easier.
“There’s a high number of bears all over our communities, they’re actually breaking right into houses...” Rich said. “There’s been over 15 different bears in Sicamous already this year, and he said that’s only what’s been reported.”
She added that conservation is asking for help as they don’t have enough coverage.
“We are actually one of the only towns in our area that doesn’t have an attractant bylaw. So they’re asking us to try to come up with one... and they are happy to help us write the bylaw,” she said, asking if council had any interest in having staff pursue that.
Rich explained that as with other communities, the bylaw would apply to all wildlife – bears, raccoons, rats, etc. – and help eliminate unnecessary attractants like pet food left outside, garbage and composts. It would also allow for enforcement from bylaw and conservation officers (COs) as needed.
“One of the issues the COs are having is they don’t really have a lot of teeth unless it becomes a huge problem, then they can go in,” she said. “But they can’t go in and say hey, you’re breaking the bylaws here. So they’re looking for some backing here.”
Chief administrative officer Kelly Bennett added that the bylaw would enable the district to issue fines for offences. As an example, she cited Enderby’s bylaw that allows for a penalty not to exceed $10,000, and a jail term of not more than six months.
“I’m not saying we have to be that aggressive,” she said. “However, it gives us an opportunity if somebody is doing something that’s attracting wildlife, we have the ability to actually hit ‘em where it hurts with the penalty.”
Mayor Colleen Anderson agreed they should direct staff to draft a bylaw, adding that “the fine should be hefty,” because it’s obviously a problem if there are that many bears in Sicamous despite their educational communications.
“Slapping them on the wrist if they’re not following the rules... and they’re attracting raccoons and bears into their community, then I think it should be a hefty fine, I don’t think we should go soft.”
As directed, staff will bring a draft bylaw for approval at an upcoming council meeting, likely sooner than later as the district posted about another bear sighting on Facebook, this one on Finlayson Street across from the office.
