A letter written after the recent killing of a black bear and her three offspring sparked conversation at the June 13 council meeting.
Calling the act by conservation officers a travesty, Mary-Lou and Virginia McCausland asked local politicians for answers.
McCausland included information taken from the Internet which, “dispels myths about black bears and aggression,” and asked councillors to find solutions so other bears don’t have to be killed.
Coun. Ken Jamieson asked staff what responsibility city council has when an animal is deemed to be a threat.
Chief financial officer Monica Dalziel said the city could get involved either by educating the public about bear-aware behaviour or by creating a bylaw to make leaving garbage or other food sources available to bears a ticketable offence.
“I think there’s a communication role, for council,” said Coun. Tim Lavery. “I would like us to become a bear-smart community.”
Coun. Kevin Flynn acknowledged the program is successful but shied away from a suggestion that council be involved in more than an educational role. He said a bylaw would be too difficult to enforce.
Staff will investigate the Bear Aware program and the possibility of including funding in for it the 2017 budget.
Meanwhile, conservation officer Josh Lockwood, sergeant in charge of operations in the Okanagan Region, says local bear complaints are soaring.
“Since April 1, we have had 43 complaints of black bears in Salmon Arm and that’s not where we get multiple reports of the same bears,” he says, noting no matter how many calls are received about a single bear, it remains one complaint.
“Last year we had a total of 61 complaints overall and this year, we’re not even into September when the bears come in for the fruit,” says Lockwood.
He says that since Vernon became a bear-aware city last year, the number of complaints has been reduced.