Sow bear put down due to public safety concerns after entering retail store in Hope

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“Bears that that learn to associate people with food, frequent populated areas and enter homes or stores are not candidates for relocation or rehabilitation, due to the risk to public safety,” the COS said. “The decision was made by provincial wildlife biologists with the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship to release the cub in a wilderness area.”

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There were no reports of injuries to anyone in the store.

“The BCCOS would like to thank Hope RCMP for their assistance,” the BCCOS said.

Conservation officers say bears become more active when fall approaches because they need to locate food and store fat in advance of hibernation. It says drought conditions, wildfires, and poor berry crops in some areas of the province may have reduced natural food availability.

“Bears may be travelling further and looking in novel places for sustenance, and this means it is more important than ever to not give bears a reason to linger in communities,” the BCCOS said. “Too often, bears become food-conditioned because garbage, pet food, birdseed, and other attractants are not properly secured. We all have a role to play to prevent human-wildlife conflicts”

For more information and resources on what the public can do, visit WildSafeBC.com.