Dan Bartol doesn’t want to kill any more bears.
In the past week alone, the Revelstoke, B.C. conservation officer has had to destroy nine of the animals. Ten have been terminated in the town this summer.
“I think everybody should be upset, because I’m upset,” Bartol told CTV News Calgary. “If we didn’t create this situation, I wouldn’t have to be dealing with it in this manner.”
With bear statues adorning the town, Revelstoke usually celebrates its connection to the large omnivorous mammals. But black bears in the area have become so habituated to humans that one even entered a clothing store after sauntering down a downtown street. The animal was shot to death a few blocks away.
“Public safety -- human safety -- has to trump that at the expense of the bears, unfortunately,” Bartol said.
The conservation officer puts the blame solely on the town’s inhabitants.
“People could take it upon themselves to secure their garbage, to pick their fruit, even if that means picking it a little bit early before it’s ripe,” Bartol said while installing a bear trap at the home of a woman who has had three bear visits in the past few days. If caught, the animal will be terminated.
“If we want to keep bears safe, we’ve got to get rid of all the attractants,” Bartol said.
While some understand Bartol’s inglorious work, a group of protesters gathered in the town Monday evening, carrying placards and chanting, “Save our bears!”
“I think it’s really sad and I don’t think they should be getting killed,” Cassie Vansickle told CTV News Calgary.
Bartol believes he has little choice. He’s been placing traps around the town to capture six more nuisance animals. If caught, Bartol says all of these habituated bears will have to be destroyed.
“I’d much prefer to deal with it proactively,” Bartol said somberly.
With a report from CTV Calgary
