I was once again saddened by yet another unnecessary bear shooting in a home in Kimberley.
Leading bear behaviourist Ben Kilham advocates remote feeding stations for bears during years of low natural food sources, and from what I hear, this is one.
The streams are dry and have no fish, and the berry crop is poor. This is why bears come into human areas. If we select remote feeding areas we can help the bears get through tough years and stay away from town.
Yes, the conservation officers will scream about this, but Kilham has proven that it works. Read some of his work and then comment.
We have removed the choicest food sources, we have dried up the rivers with dams and now we shoot them when they are starving. It’s just wrong. If we can help the wildlife in bad years, why not?
Aren’t the bears a big part of the reason tourists come here? I think they prefer to take home photo memories of live creatures, not dead, starving ones on someone’s kitchen floor.
Shannon LeBlanc
Nelson