Fur Bears say bringing back Bear Smart sends ‘clear message’ at UBCM – North Island Gazette

Published 5:00 pm Saturday, September 19, 2026
By Troy Landreville
A B.C. wildlife protection group is calling on municipalities to reactivate Bear Smart.
The Fur-Bearers identified earlier this year through freedom of information (FOI) requests that the province’s Bear Smart program was understated, not communicating its status, and, it said in a media release, “generally in disarray – all while numerous municipalities were attempting to achieve or renew their status.”
According to the release, “bring back Bear Smart was the clear message” this week at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention, as a resolution calling on the province to fund and expand the program passed.
Since then, the Association of Kootenay & Boundary Local Governments put forward a resolution calling for the program to be restored, and was followed by an unanimous motion from Port Moody.
This led to Resolution EB15 at this year’s UBCM, which passed this week.
“This is a clear message to the province that communities want and need support in preventing human-bear encounters,” says Lesley Fox, executive director of The Fur-Bearers.
“It’s a smart public investment to restore funding… to the Bear Smart program and help reduce pressure on emergency services and provincial enforcement, and the unnecessary killing of hundreds of black bears every year.”
The provincial government will respond to all resolutions, but this process may take several months.
“Keeping black bears wild is a shared responsibility, and we hope that this resolution prompts more than just a written response from the provincial government,” Fox said.
The Fur-Bearers is a registered, non-partisan Canadian charity founded in 1953 to protect fur-bearing animals through conservation, advocacy, research, and education.
This is eating season for bears, who are out and about, looking to fatten up for hibernation. According to the group Bear Wise, they must consume ten times as many calories as they need during the spring and summer, which means finding 20,000 calories a day or more.
Currently, 12 B.C. communities have Bear Smart status, including two on Vancouver Island: Port Alberni and Port Hardy.
On its website, the District of Port Hardy offers tips on how to be Bear Smart.
Some of the tips include:
– Never storing your garbage outside, unless it is in an approved bear-proof container or bear-proof enclosure.
– Not putting garbage curb-side until morning of pick-up.
– Not using bear feeders in bear country.
– Burning and cleaning your barbecue immediately after use.
– Not leaving any food unattended outside, because the smell from barbecuing travels a long distance.
– Feeding your pets inside and storing their food inside. If you must feed pets outside, remove all food and food bowls after feeding.
– Harvesting fruits as soon as they ripen.
– Removing fallen fruit from the ground.
– Planting non-fruit bearing trees/shrubs when landscaping.
From January to July of this year, the BC Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) fielded 13,672 calls for black bears province-wide, and attended 1,116 of them. Thirty-three black bears have had to be euthanized by BCCOS officers through the first seven months of 2026.

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