DEEP tactics, killing of Canton bear draw criticism

CANTON — The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection euthanized a mother bear and tranquilized her cubs this week after the adult animal broke into several local homes, but the Humane Society believes these measures could have been prevented.

While a DEEP spokesperson said conservation police tried unsuccessfully to use “aversive conditioning” before resorting to more drastic measures, Annie Hornish, Connecticut state director for the Humane Society of the United States, questioned whether the agency employed those tactics.

“We're waiting to get data from them as to what they actually did,” she said.

Jenny Dixon, wildlife director at DEEP, said on two occasions prior to euthanizing the bear, officers shot “bean bag rounds” to scare the animal, an example of aversive conditioning.

Aversive conditioning can involve non-lethal tactics like rubber bullets and bear spray.

Hornish feels the Canton situation could have been handled differently.

If bears are spotted in a neighborhood, Hornish said it can help if residents make loud noises like blowing a whistle or banging pots and pans together. Without these aversive sounds, the bear will begin to get comfortable among people and in their spaces.

“It has to be a community-wide effort,” Hornish said. “For obvious reasons, you know, if your neighbor has an easy food source, the bear will, could walk over to your property to get there. So everyone has to participate with it.”

When the mother bear was euthanized, her three cubs were tranquilized and one never woke up, DEEP officials said.

However, Dixon said death is always a risk when using a tranqulizer. She also said the cubs were left in a place in northwestern Connecticut where DEEP has successfully relocated bears in the past.

But some state legislators are also calling for a closer examination of how DEEP handled this situation.

“DEEP's wildlife division is now behind a cub dying from tranquilization,” state Rep. David Michel, D-Stamford, said in a Facebook post.

But Dixon defended DEEP's actions, reiterating the agency's focus on bear and public safety.