‘There will not be a regular meeting of Council on Monday, ; January 3, 2000. ‘The next regular meeting of Council will be on Monday, | ; January 10, 2000. WEW HOPE FOR BLACK BEARS i a Most people aren't thinking ; ‘ about bears this holiday season. - But according to District resi- dent “Tony Webb, now is the | time we should be thinking about beurs - and preparing for March. | + ‘That's when hibernation ends - and ‘many bears begin che -descent to residential neigh- : Eourhoads in search of food. This cen be dangerous for resi- | - dents, and the bears them- . selves. AleHough the risk of harm from bears is low, bears sre ‘wild- animals and can be dangerous arid unpredictable. _eage and then Bears who pose a danger. or become accustomed to human ‘food or garbage, may have to be destroyed. Last year, over 1,600 bears were killed in B.C. after they were considered a threat to human safety. There is often no alternative. If there isn't an avenue of escape for the animal, or if they have cubs or are sick, they can become dangerous. In some cases, bears leave the area on their own or can be tranquil- ized or enticed into a portable relocated. Unfortunately, in many cases, this isn’t possible and the bear must be destroyed. Tony Webb is among a growing number of residents, RCMP, Conservation and District offi- cials looking for alternatives to this problem. Webb is a founda- tion member of the World Wildlife Fund Canada and has ‘a keen interest in wildlife, par- ticularly the. black bear. "J came to Canada from England in 1957." said Webb. "In Europe they've lost much of their bear population. Our wildlife is a treasure. We have to protect what we have so that we don't lose it." Aversive conditioning may be an alternative to’ shooting bears, The technique lets bears know that they ere not wel- come. First, ‘bangers’ are fired fram a small hand gun. If che . bear does not heed this initial’ message, a 12-gauge gen is used to shoot a projectile that opens out to about a one-inch square pad which gives the bear not oaly a hard, painful whack, but colour-codes the bear at the same time. H this fails, the next “step is to use a load of rubber pellets in the I2-gauge gun. Hopefully, this method’ scares the hear away and dissuedes it from returning to the area. “A number of North Vancouver RCMP officers * have. been trained in aversive condition- ing techniques. However, in order to properly outfit the detachment, ‘donations ‘are “needed to purchase ten kits, which cost about $500 each. There are a number of ways BEAR UH MIND The North Shore needs your help to make the New Non-Lethal Bear Management Programme a success, so that fewer black bears are killed this season. Please help equip the North Vancouver R.C.M.P. with 10 kits for the aversive conditioning of black bears. Bach kit costs about $500. ‘Two kits have already been donated by concerned citizens. Please give a black bear a fairer chaines to life, by send- ing your tax-deductible donation (mark “North Shore Q Biack Bears’) to Northwest Wildlife Preservation Seciety 707-1112 West Pender Street Vancouver, BC V6E 2SI . ‘Telephone: 713-6686 Fax: 713-6698 _ E-mail: NWPS@direct.ca/nwps - : www.persweb.direct.ca/nwps that District residents can help _this important cause. First, in order for uversive conditioning to be effective, bears must be deterred from wandering into our neighbourhoods. Tips to ' deter bears include: do not feed bears, garbage should be secure- ly contained; keep your yard ed. Information on this w wor : while cause is ‘above: - free of food'scraps and dog food;: ” ‘4 and pick up fallen tree fruit ’ promptly. Bird feeders and dirty barbecue grills also attract bears. Wildlife © The Northwest , Preservation Society has started “a campaign to help raise funds to. purchase thé ten aversive bear conditioning kits for the: ‘North - Vancouver RCMP Detachment. . - Donations are gratefully accept-- ° Colleen, Evan and Spencer Brow spend an afternoon exploring a local park.