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EDITORIAL: #FedBearDeadBear

In July 2014, a 93-year-old Delbrook woman had to be stitched up after a run-in with a bear. The bruin had pushed its way into her house and they had startled each other in the kitchen.
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In July 2014, a 93-year-old Delbrook woman had to be stitched up after a run-in with a bear. The bruin had pushed its way into her house and they had startled each other in the kitchen. The woman survived, but conservation officers shot the bear, which had been living off garbage. It is precisely the scenario we work so hard to avoid.

But making the news this week are frankly baffling videos of a North Shore family deliberately feeding a mother bear and cub from their back door, clearly mistaking the wildlife for furry friends appreciative of a snack.

By habituating these bears, the family has signed their death warrants. We’d be surprised if mother and cub are still alive when this editorial comes off the press.

The family in the video is heard speaking Russian and so it’s entirely possible they haven’t read educational materials from the North Shore Black Bear Society or any of our dozens of stories and editorials warning against this very activity. A fed bear is a dead bear. Education is the first and best line of defence when it comes to protecting wildlife. Ironically, the family’s social media videos will go a long way in showing people what not to do.

But this is just an egregious example of people luring bears on purpose. Across the North Shore, there are longtime residents with sloppy habits when it comes to garbage, bird feeders, tree fruit and other attractants that threaten our ursine neighbours. These are people who can’t claim ignorance and for whom education will do nothing to protect bears.

To our conservation officers and municipal staff, we say: start writing bylaw tickets. Write them until your pens run dry. And when you run out of pens, you can use some of ours.

What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.