WILDLIFE – Time to take precautions as bears emerge from hibernation

The City is reminding residents that unmanaged bear attractants around homes can unintentionally attract bears into neighbourhoods as they sniff out food sources after emerging from winter hibernation.

“Every year, the mismanagement of wildlife attractants leads to the needless destruction of bears. Putting down bears is preventable,” said Danielle Sparks, the City’s environmental services coordinator.

“The goal of the City’s Bear Smart program is to increase awareness of what can happen when residents don’t properly manage attractants. We encourage behaviour that helps keep bears safe and reduces human-bear conflict. We want residents to remember that simple actions can save a bear’s life,” she said.

She suggested doing the following:

• Keep pet food/containers inside.
• Remove bird feeders from May to November and clean up any spilled birdseed.
• Keep barbecues clean.
• Pick fruit from trees as soon as it ripens and consider removing any unwanted fruit trees. For help harvesting your trees, inquire about the Kamloops Food Policy Council’s Gleaning Abundance Program at KamloopsFoodPolicyCouncil.com.
• Manage backyard composters properly and avoid composting meats and greases in backyard composters (meat scraps, bones, and greases are accepted in residential organics).

Under the Solid Waste and Recyclables Bylaw:

• Residents must ensure that solid waste carts are stored securely and made inaccessible to wildlife.
• Between April 1 and Nov. 30, carts must not be placed at the curb earlier than 4 a.m. on collection day (and carts must be removed from the curb no later than 7 p.m. year-round).
• No property owner or occupier shall accumulate, store, or collect any wildlife attractants unless stored in an enclosed structure or closed container.
• Infractions may result in a $100 fine.

Managing Solid Waste Carts
Feeding bears, even unintentionally, is against the law in BC (Wildlife Act, section 88.1). The City says it’s every resident’s responsibility to make sure their waste does not attract wildlife — ff you face barriers to storing your garbage, organics, and recycling in a locked, wildlife-proof enclosure like a garage or shed, visit Kamloops.ca/BearSmart for tips.

Sightings and human-wildlife interactions can be reported to the BC Conservation Officer Service by calling 1-877-952-7277. Learn more at Kamloops.ca/BearSmart.