When Keith Lamoureux spotted a small black bear seeking refuge in his yard, he called the BC Conservation Officer Service (COS) hoping the animal would be tranquilized and re-located.
That didn’t happen.
“I watched as they shot him, they killed him, and we watched the bear fall down, blood all over, I cleaned up most of it,” Lamoureux said, choking back tears.
The two-year-old habituated black bear was destroyed by conservation officers at the Riva Ridge mobile home park on Tuesday.
Lamoureux still has the shell casing that was used to destroy the animal.
He and his nine-year-old daughter, who also witnessed the bear’s demise, are shaken and completely devastated by what they witnessed.
“They’re not supposed to shoot it, they’re supposed to help it,” said his daughter Brookelynn.
The COS said the public needs to do a better job managing attractants so they don’t have to deal with this level of conflict and put down bears in the future.
Officials believe bears may have been drawn to the area because of the way a business managed its attractants.
Global News has learned that Play Estate Winery in Skaha Hills has been fined $800 for attracting dangerous wildlife and failing to comply with a dangerous wildlife protection order.
“The order was given, the information was provided, and then failing to listen is what resulted in the fines,” said conservation officer David Cox said.
Play Estate Winery managing partner David Pechet said the COS dealt with this situation poorly.
“I am appalled that they no longer relocate bears in British Columbia and their only alternative for this sort of situation is to shoot the bears,” he said.
Pechet said there is more to the story and he’d like to sit down and explain what happened at another time; he was boarding a plane when Global News contacted him.
Conservation said relocating habituated bears is rarely successful and the focus needs to be on preventing human-wildlife conflict.
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