Prince George continues to be the deadliest city in BC for black bears.
According to data from the BC Conservation Officer Service, 76 bears were killed in the northern capital last year – more than doubling Kamloops’ tally of 31.
In 2022, 32 black bears were killed in PG.
The Fur-Bearers, a non-partisan, registered charity used a freedom of information legislation to access the data.
“Following a deadly year for black bears in British Columbia, we expected to see the familiar names of communities where issues remain unresolved,” says Lesley Fox, Executive Director of The Fur-Bearers.
“Unfortunately, this year the BC COS only provided ten communities – and did not tell us where they killed 356 of the alarming 603 black bears killed.”
The list of black bear deaths submitted by the Conservation Officer Service shows that the Cariboo and northern BC regions are well represented on this list.
Here is a full breakdown of black bear deaths by community:
- Prince George 76
- Kamloops 31
- Mackenzie 28
- Smithers 24
- Quesnel 22
- Burns Lake 17
- Vanderhoof 17
- Squamish 11
- Fort St. James 11
- Fraser Lake 10
“The location of where over 50% of the black bears killed remains unknown by the public, and that’s completely unacceptable both for conservation and government accountability,” said Fox.
“We’re calling on the BC COS to begin publishing bear kill statistics monthly, by location, for the public to see. There is no way for communities to do better when they don’t know there’s a problem.”
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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