PLEASE SHARE. 
Be warned it’s hard to watch.  https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18zLzQGVyx/

Hi friends, 

This video was sent to me by a traumatized community member who will never forget this violent death near the home she raises her children. 

What I’ve shared is not just a photo — it’s a record of the quiet violence our province inflicts on our bears. It shows something I wish none of us ever had to witness. 

This was Betty — an older mother bear killed in Coquitlam just a week ago, leaving her two cubs suddenly orphaned and now in care. To be clear, Betty didn’t “break” into a home, she didn’t threaten anyone; her cubs wandered through an open door and she followed them, exactly what any mother would do. That soft entrance ended in state‑sanctioned violence. She was shot four times and still not dead. 
All she wanted to do was keep her cubs safe and teach them the secret nuances of being a bear…

I share this video because I am soon working up north and our bears need more then ever your voices to speak up with courage and keep them safe. 

Action plan: 
*Video everything in your community that threatens your bears. 
*Please SHARE this post, and call your MLA along with writing letters write letters for the much needed change in policy. 
*Ask your political leaders why a mother bear was killed for following her offspring. *Ask what protocols continue to allow this unsupported culture of violence to continue killing our bears. 
*Ask how many more families of bears will be torn apart this way right before our children’s eyes. 

Betty’s story should not fade quietly — it should echo until our Provincial leaders  finally listens.

Thank you🙏💕
Ellie
BearKind

A recent incident has shaken our Coquitlam community to its core. Betty, an older mother bear, was shot four times by Coquitlam police, dying slowly in someone's backyard. She left behind two cubs, now orphaned, and she had not posed a threat to anyone. This tragic event was witnessed by a community member who now lives with the trauma of seeing such violence unfold near her home.

The quiet violence inflicted on bears in our province is not isolated to this one incident. It is part of a larger pattern that demands our attention and urgent action. Bears like Betty deserve to live without the threat of unnecessary violence. Their survival and coexistence with humans should be something we strive to protect.

Statistics from the British Columbia Conservation Foundation indicate that over 500 bears were euthanized in the province in 2022 alone. This is a staggering number that reflects poorly on our current wildlife management practices. These numbers are not just statistics; they represent lives abruptly ended, often without justified cause.

There is an alternative. We need to implement and support non-lethal methods to manage wildlife interactions in our communities. Education programs, improved waste management practices, and community alerts can greatly reduce the need for such drastic measures. It's time for our local authorities to adopt humane strategies that ensure the safety of both residents and wildlife.

We call for an immediate review of the policies that guide police and wildlife interactions in Coquitlam and across British Columbia. We urge the authorities to increase funding for wildlife conservation and the implementation of non-lethal control methods. Such steps can prevent further tragedies like the one that took Betty's life.

Please join us in demanding a change that will protect our bears and create a safe, compassionate community for all living beings. Sign this petition to urge the local government to halt unnecessary bear killings and employ more humane methods of wildlife management. Let Betty's story inspire us to ensure this never happens again.