Blacktail Lakes Bear was a favourite member in Montana and Yellowstone Park.  He never hurt anyone, and mostly hung out at night.  This June, when he got into garbage, Montana Fish and Wildlife tried to capture him, and educate the public about garbage removal.  He also entered several houses, including the house of a park staff member.  Hazing (making noise) and electric fences were tried, though the bear ignored the hazing and fences because the food was too irresistible.  But when he entered a house one morning in July, a conservation officer shot him when he went towards the river.  His head and paws were chopped off, and his body was left in the river until the afternoon, traumatizing everyone.  The reason given for the dismemberment was that the conservation officer did not want his head and paws sold illegally.  https://www.speciesunite.com/news-stories/well-known-grizzly-bear-shot-and-dismembered-by-wildlife-officials-in-yellowstone-highlights-human-caused-conflict?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Turkey%20passes%20%20massacre%20law%20%20to%20remove%20millions%20of%20free-roaming%20dogs&utm_campaign=News%3A%20Octopus%20bill&vgo_ee=T6wt%2F5p1P8%2B0gpgjw%2F2YRAnatKOk%2F9ahE3ptmgJq7Xlbb7c%2B%3AyIukmhPEGmZuOEeh4BC%2FNpXkjluhickN

This press release from the Fish and Wildlife Service actually thanks various agencies and the general public for “safely removing the bear” just “minutes” after entering the home.  The term ”removed” is just offensive considering what was done to the poor bear.  And killing never “removes” an animal, especially when there are attractants and insecure structures that an animal can get in.  The bear will quickly be replaced by another bear, raccoon, rat, squirrel, etc. 

https://fwp.mt.gov/homepage/news/2024/jul/0719-food-conditioned-grizzly-bear-removed-after-conflicts-in-gardiner-area

We would like Conservation Officers to stop considering killing as a removal method for bears.  Killing bears has failed to remove bear encounters in BC, and the killing increases each year.  Live Trapping and relocation should only be a last resort, but efforts were being made every night to trap this bear.  Traps offer attractants to an area.  No removal method ever removes the attractants or the structural issues with buildings that allow an animal to enter.  We would like the Conservation Officer Service to stop the killing entirely, use education, an exclusion method, and attractant removal primarily, and live capture and relocation only as a last resort.  We would also like to see changes made to bylaws and building codes to ban attractants and address structural problems.