One grizzly and 11 black bears have been killed in the interest of safety by Prince George conservation officers this year, an improvement from previous years.
BC Conservation Service Sgt. Rory Smith said favourable food conditions in the wild and changing the behaviour by residents have helped.
"On our side of things, a number of dangerous wildlife protection orders have been issued. Basically what that does is allow officers to step in when attractants are detected," he said. "It is a cease and desist order to make some changes like cleaning up certain attractants or stopping them from putting attractants out where bears will be drawn in."
Leaving garbage cans on the street prior to the morning of pickup is one of the main issues. Failing to pick tree fruit or clean barbecues can also be a problem, as are unkempt bird feeders or compost piles.
"People get very frustrated with neighbors who continually put out garbage that might attract bears in, and that causes dangers to the people in that neighbourhood and it means bears get destroyed when it could have been prevented, and not too many people like to see that," Smith said. "So there is a certain peer pressure that exists."
Smith credited the provincial government and the City of Prince George for enacting stiffer new regulations helping the Bear Aware campaign.
