WHEREAS many rural British Columbia communities must endure the growing wildlife population, which is not only a nuisance, but a threat to public safety, without the expertise, regulating authority or resources to deal with these populations; AND WHEREAS the Ministry of Environment and its conservation officers have the authority and expertise to deal with these populations, but lack the adequate level of resources to deal with the issue: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities request the Province of British Columbia to put more resources into wildlife management areas in which both rural and urban wildlife is a significant problem.
Ministry of Natural Resource Operations The Ministry recognizes that urban wildlife issues are a concern for many communities across BC. However, there is no panacea for the problem. Each community has a unique set of conditions, challenges, varied opinions on acceptable management strategies and differing tolerances in relation to human wildlife conflicts. As a result, the Ministry has developed the Wildlife Conflict Prevention Strategy, the Bear Smart Communities Program, and the Urban Ungulates Conflict Analysis report, which are all tools to help communities work in partnership with the Ministry on finding effective and publicly supported solutions to urban wildlife conflicts. Urban and semi-rural landscapes provide attractive habitats for a number of wildlife species including deer and bear. These are areas which have a variety of food sources and habitat diversity that wildlife species can easily exploit. These are also areas with far fewer natural predators thus allowing wildlife populations such as deer to increase rapidly leading to conflict. Additionally communities continue to expand with new developments thus further increasing human conflicts with wildlife populations. The most effective, efficient and socially acceptable method for controlling wildlife populations is hunting. Municipalities however, for public safety purposes typically have bylaws in place that prohibit or restrict the discharge of weapons, thus removing this tool. The combination of favourable habitats, high wildlife populations and limited effective tools has exacerbated this problem. The Ministry has established legislation to prevent the feeding of species such as bears, and has enabling legislation to prohibit the feeding of deer in specified areas. Municipalities need to better understand and support and where appropriate help enforce such regulations. Without proper attractant management, no amount of wildlife relocations, euthanization or other management strategies will be effective in reducing urban wildlife conflicts. The Ministry has developed best management practices as referenced above and is prepared to assist in managing this problem through joining committees, attending municipal meetings, providing expert advice and assisting in the implementation of management strategies to help reduce the scope of this problem.