Dear Editor:
Re: Three More Bears Dead in Blueridge, Sept. 28 news story.
It is very disheartening and disturbing to read about these actions recently undertaken by conservation officers. I live in Blueridge, I have seen the bears in question.
The narrative put forward is that residents are responsible because of leaving attractants out. We are given the blame treatment, instead of asking decision-makers to come up with a humane response.
In fact, the bears are going into hibernation and are seeking food sources, some of which are compost bins, and the compost that is now collected in bins as green waste. Hungry bears show up regularly on garbage day. There is no way this is going to change.
The fact that these bears are visibly undernourished points to an underlying environmental problem over which we have no control. At least one of the tagged mother bears mentioned in recent articles has wandered through my yard with her cubs. She is indeed in rough shape.
So do we just shoot them because they are hungry? Better to channel that “blame” into some creative problem-solving – maybe with a dose of compassion as well.
Maureen Harwood
North Vancouver
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