More bear cubs killed than sent to rehab this year, data show

Provincial conservation officers so far this year have destroyed 70 per cent more small black bear cubs than they have taken to rehabilitation centres for release back to the wild, Ministry of Environment statistics reveal.

The statistics, compiled at the request of Postmedia News, show that from April 1 to Aug. 8, conservation officers destroyed 22 black bear “cubs of the year” compared with 13 cubs taken to rehab facilities. The ministry notes that an unspecified number of cubs were destroyed due to being hit by vehicles or euthanized because they were injured, sick, or emaciated.

Deputy chief Chris Doyle, of the Conservation Officer Service, said of the kill numbers “we’d like to see that number at zero, but we have to make some tough decisions.”

He said the extent and frequency of cub interactions with people are factors in any decision to kill that animal. In some cases, officers consult with a biologist or vet, or decide themselves that a sick or injured cub is too far gone for rehab, he added.

Doyle emphasized the importance of people keeping food away from bears to avoid them being killed as nuisance animals. “We’re striving to keep all those bears wild,” he said.

Section 79 of the Wildlife Act reads, in part: “An officer may kill an animal, other than a domestic animal, that is at large and is likely to harm persons, property, wildlife or wildlife habitat.”

Lesley Fox, executive director of The Fur-Bearers, said rehabbers have found that bears under six months old are excellent candidates for rehabilitation and release back to the wild.

The Fur-Bearers is seeking a judicial review of the decision by conservation officer Micah Kneller to kill an orphaned black bear cub about the size of a domestic cat on May 6, 2016, near Dawson Creek.

The Northern Lights Wildlife Society in Smithers had agreed to take the cub.

In a letter received by The FurBearers on Jan. 13, 2017, Aaron Canuel, deputy chief conservation officer, argued that Section 86 of the Wildlife Act exempts conservation officers from restrictions against killing wild animals under Section 79 “when officers are engaged in performing their duties,” court documents read. The Fur-Bearers argue that “an officer who acts without lawful authority is not engaged in his or her duties, but rather is acting outside of his/her duties.”