Members of the community of West Kelowna stood together in October to mourn and create change after three bears were killed in their backyard earlier this fall. Specifically, the group of saddened citizens were calling for a change to waste management bylaws and improved bear-safe education.

The three well-known bears 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“ a sow and her two cubs 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“ were shot by Conservation Officers on Sept. 25, in the Rose Valley neighbourhood, "to ensure public safety" after being deemed "highly food-conditioned," with a "minimal fear of people," and were not candidates for relocation read a statement from the Conservation Office Service (COS) after the incident. 

On Oct. 8, fifteen West Kelowna residents gathered on Surrey Road, the street where the bears were killed, to grieve and share their ideas on what needs to be done to ensure a bear-safe future. 

It was noted that several of the homes on the street where the bears were killed still had unsecured garbage bins and bags of trash visible from the street. 

"I think what happened with the mother and two bear cubs being killed created a whole lot of trauma in the community," said John Waters, a resident of West Kelowna for more than 30 years.

He said that in his time in West Kelowna, he has seen many black bears as they pass through his yard or bumble down the street, and has never felt threatened or scared. 

"They weren't harming anybody, I mean they were knocking over a few bins and they were into the garbage but that is because it was available to them... If they don't have the garbage available to them then they'll go back to other resources," said Waters.

"The killing of those bears just seemed like such a ridiculous, simplistic way of dealing with perhaps a more complex problem that needed more of an integrated focus on how we deal with wildlife in our communities. We need to be more tolerant," said Waters.

Carmen Harris, a director of the Glenrosa Residents Association and a member of the West Kootenay Black Bear Education Group, has taken an active role in organizing wildlife-based educational initiatives focused on targeting the attractants, like trash, that draw bears into communities. She said that preventing euthanasia of 'food-conditioned' bears needs to be a priority for municipal governments, including the Regional District of the Central Okanagan, which is in charge of education, bylaws and waste management, and provincial governments, which manages the conservation office service and forestry. 

"We need to change what we are doing at a provincial level," said Harris. 

Harris and the other West Kelowna residents are advocating for increased education, accessibility of bear-proof bins and the creation of a bylaw that would make leaving out attractants 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“ like garbage 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“ illegal.

Harris said the first step to proper garbage management is ensuring all residents have the ability to secure their trash in a bear-proof bin. 

Breanna Scott, the coordinator for WildSafeBC Central Okanagan, which is a part of the B.C. Conservation Foundation said an initiative called the Bear Smart Community Program is also working to "address the root causes of human/bear conflicts, thereby reducing the risks to human safety and private property, as well as the number of bears that have to be destroyed each year."

Scott said that after conducting an assessment in West Kelowna, WildSafe is recommending that the City of West Kelowna facilitate access to bear-resistant garbage carts for residents who are not able to store carts indoors.

She said WildSafe is also recommending that bylaws be amended to align with bear-safe protocols.

The Regional District of the Central Okanagan said that it has tested several bear-resistant carts over the last few years and is still continuing to search for an "effective 120-litre bear-resistant cart that is both user-friendly and durable against bear damage."

The Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) and WildSafeBC are continuing to urge residents to take proactive measures to prevent human-bear conflicts by managing all attractants, including household garbage. 

Currently, leaving unsecured attractants out results in a warning and the opportunity for education. The group of concerned residents wanted to see strict fines imposed and were frustrated to see that less than two weeks after the bears were killed, there were still unsecured attractants on people's lawns.

The 15 residents said they had not witnessed any aggressive behaviour from the bears, and do not feel that they deserved to die.