More than 2,000 bear sightings, encounters reported on the Lower Mainland so far this year

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It seems more people and bears and ending up on the same turf.

Calls to the Conservation Officer Service are way up on the Lower Mainland this year — and one recent incident has an advocate calling for a change.

There have been more than 2,000 calls about bears in the region over the last three months, compared to 4,500 through all of 2018, according to Inspector Murray Smith with the BC Conservation Officer Service.

“I believe 20 black bears have been euthanized, four have been relocated, and six have been rehabilitated.”

Smith adds conservation officers will do everything they can — like using rubber bullets and talking to people about securing garbage — before a bear is put down.

However, locals are encouraged to do their part, too.

“They’ve got to ensure that their attractants are secured in locations the bears can’t access,” he says.

Ryan Svendsen, a Maple Ridge councillor, says their city’s garbage collection system is contributing to attracting bears.

He wants more timely waste collection so that garbage doesn’t stay on the side of the road longer than necessary.

“Certainly, I think there’s an opportunity to engage with the garbage pickup providers in our community and see if we can work with them to do a better job to get garbage picked up in a timely manner,” says Svendsen.

Call for change

An adult bear and two five-month old cubs were euthanized recently after they broke into a house south of Squamish.

Christine Miller with the North Shore Black Bear Society believes there should be a different set of rules for dealing with cubs less than a year old.

“I think we’re going to suggest to the government that they revisit that too, and have a look at it,” she tells NEWS 1130. “In this case, because they just have one matrix that covers the cubs as well.

Miller adds the society is “very supportive” of rehabilitation and rescue centres, and suggests these kinds of facilities as alternatives for young bears.

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