MNR shifts bear responsibility to police

The public now has the general knowledge and tools to keep bears from being attracted to their property, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, which is why the Bear Wise program is moving from an active management model to a program that emphasizes personal responsibility.

As such, the MNR has stated it will no longer provide individual site visits to help landowners who are having site-specific conflicts with bears. It has passed on those responsibilities to the Ontario Provincial Police and municipal police services.

The ministry, as a result, will no longer trap and relocate problem bears. Trapping and relocating has always been the least effective tool to manage problem bears, and research has confirmed that many bears (unless they are juveniles) that are relocated will simply return to the area from where they were removed, the MNR stated.

Eight years into the program, awareness of Bear Wise is high and many municipalities have good robust bear-wise strategies in place, meaning the public is better educated about what to do when they encounter a bear, MNR spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski said.

“Bear Wise has achieved its main goals,” Kowalski said. “Bear Wise has set a solid foundation helping municipalities and the public to reduce preventable human-bear encounters. In fact, no other jurisdiction in North America has provided this level of support.”

Greater Sudbury Police Service Deputy Chief Al Lekun said municipal police services across the province, as well as the Ontario Provincial Police, did not take kindly to the downloading of responsibility for responding to emergency situations.

The MNR and is bear technicians are the experts when it comes to addressing bears and issues surrounding bears in the community, he said. Responding to nuisance bear calls isn't policing, and while officers will respond to situations that pose an immediate threat to the public, it could very well lead to an increase in the number of bears being killed.

“(The MNR) has put the onus on the police services to deal with situations where there is an immediate threat to public safety,” Lekun said. “It's another example of responsibility being downloaded from a provincial level to a municipal level without any consideration to the impact it has on frontline services.”

Police officers have always been the first responders in such cases; however, previously, in the event of an immediate threat to public safety, the MNR was available as part of the solution. Now, because the ministry will no longer be available, “we will have to use what is at our disposal to deal with the situation, and that may mean having to dispatch the bear.”

There have been a number of situations where police were forced to dispatch officers because of an immediate threat, but to date, no bears have been killed. If it came down to it, though, “that's pretty much the only option an officer would have without ministry assistance.”

The reality is, the MNR is better equipped, better resourced and better trained to deal with bear situations than are the police, Lekun said.

“We don't have traps, we don't have tranquilizer guns, nor do we have the training,” Lekun added.

Already, Greater Sudbury Police Service has been experiencing an increase in nuisance bear calls, the majority of which are redirected to the MNR. Problem bears are the ones that are around because people are still putting out their garbage at night or they don't clean their barbecues after use, Lekun said.

“We won't respond to those calls,” Lekun said. “No. 1, it's not in our mandate to do that. The MNR has the mandate to deal with nuisance bears.”

If and when there is a threat to public safety, then officers will respond, “and we will accept that role,” he said. “By all means, if there is an issue where there is an immediate threat to public safety because a bear ventured into a neighbourhood or a school yard, we will be there to address it.

“From our perspective and from other police services in the province, the MNR has a role to play in community safety, and we don't want them to absolve themselves of that responsibility. We will continue to deal with this and put that responsibility back on their shoulders when we can.”

Meanwhile, Greater Sudbury Police Service is doing its best to educate the public and make them aware of what attracts bears, and how they can mitigate the risks of human-bear contacts, Lekun said. The tools, the awareness and the education people can and do access very easily; it's following the rules and paying attention to situations that attract bears to their yard that many people have an issue with.

“The information is there, it's just a matter of people taking some responsibility for decreasing the likelihood of a bear being in their yard,” he said. “There are things that are beyond your control, but much of what can be done to prevent bears from venturing into neighbourhoods is not.”

The MNR will continue to operate the toll-free, Bear Reporting Line (1-866-514 -2327- 24/7 operation between April 1 to the end of November). People can call the Bear Reporting Line to report human-bear occurrences in the community. They will be connected directly with a live operator during bear season and will receive advice about bear behaviour, how to avoid human-bear conflicts, and how to remove attractants.

The ministry has also established and will maintain its comprehensive website to assist Ontarians with tips to ensure that their properties are not inviting to bears.

If there is an immediate safety emergency call 911 or Greater Sudbury Police Service at 705-675-9171.

Posted by Arron Pickard