Conservation officers are searching for the culprit after a bear was found wounded but still living after it was shot with an arrow.
Particularly because the animal was found within city limits – specifically the greenbelt behind the Cook Road-Lehman Street area in the Hart – the act posed a safety hazard, said Eamon McArthur of the Conservation Officer Service.
“If you fire an arrow, you’ve got to track it and you’ve got to finish it off, especially because if you’re injuring an animal within city limits, you could potentially be liable for criminal charges if that bear attacked somebody,” he said.
Conservation officers put the bear down after receiving a call on Friday, March 11.
Bowhunting is allowed within city limits but judging by the type of arrow used, McArthur said it appears the shooter was not a hunter. He said conservation officers have a couple of leads they’re going to be following up but would like the person responsible to simply step forward.
“If we identify the person and they haven’t done anything to report it, it’s probably not going to go well for them,” McArthur said.
At the least, the person faces a charge of failing to report the wounding of an animal under the Wildlife Act but causing undue suffering to an animal under the Criminal Code is also a possibility, McArthur said.
He said there haven’t been any calls from that area about problem bears so far this year although there have been in the past. Whether it was wandering through or a garbage bear, conservation officers cannot say.
Anyone who has information on the incident is asked to contact the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-POACH (7277).
