The Town of View Royal will be introducing a pilot project where residents will be given bear-proof garbage bins in an effort to curb human-wildlife conflict.
At a council meeting on Tuesday, March 19, council members passed a motion to set aside $5,000 to provide the bins and provide bear awareness education to some residents of the Riverside neighbourhood.
In June 2023, a bear with three cubs was euthanized in the area after reports of it climbing onto residential porches to access food.
“The mom bear was actually one of many bears roaming our neighbourhood last spring to fall. Bears were sighted weekly, making some seniors too frightened to walk outside their homes,” noted Riverside resident Andrea Miller in an email.
Coun. Ron Mattson said he visited Port Hardy where residents aren’t allowed to have their bins outside before 7 a.m. and they have to be brought into their garage, shed or locked wooden bins before dark.
Mattson and Mayor Sid Tobias both felt it would be better to implement a bylaw or policy to keep bins behind a locked door, rather than spending the money on new bins.
The bear-proof bins, which are similar to current garbage bins but they have two latches on the top secured by carabiners, would be $290 each as opposed to the $149 bins the town currently uses.
According to a staff report to council, “the latch may deter smaller wildlife, it likely would not withstand an aggressive and determined bear.”
“I do believe that a lot of the issues with the garbage and the wildlife is most often related to human behavior [like] not putting the garbage in the garage or a shed when it’s not pickup days,” Coun. Alison Mackenzie said. “The bear-proof bins also rely on human behavior in order to work effectively, so I agree that what we have to look at is the human intervention side and how we incentivize positive behaviours and address the negative behaviors that affect our wildlife”
Because of proximity to Thetis Lake and Craigflower Creek, Coun. John Rogers felt a pilot program would be warranted at homes in the Riverside area, and he motioned to set aside $5,000 for the bins on a first-come-first-serve basis to incentivize residents to be more aware of bear activity in the area.
“These are wild animals that are going to get habituated. I distinctly remember a bear coming up, and all the parents in the playground rushing like hell to get their kids to safety because the bear was habituated and it was coming in,” said Rogers. ‘This [motion] does not exclude public awareness and public responsibility and again, in that pilot in Riverside, we’re going to see the benefits of both assets combined.”
The motion passed 4-2 with Mackenzie and Tobias opposed.
Read More: ‘Absolutely devastating’: View Royal teen mourns after mother bear euthanize
