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Prince George, B.C. – A big increase in the number of bears put down in the Prince George area this year over last.

Northern Bear Awareness Society president Dave Bakker says 41 bears were destroyed from April 1 – Nov. 15. He says that’s up from the 20 bears put down over the same period last year.

Bakker says calls to the conservation officer service were up too – from 633 in 2015 to 828 this year.

He notes he’s disappointed more bears were put down considering we had an early spring and a good natural food supply.

“But as the year progressed the berries started to wane and the bears got their feed, bears started venturing into the residential areas and it’s not surprising at all when you consider that there’s no such thing as an overfed bear.”

Though some of those bears were euthanized in areas outside the city like Sinclair Mills and Salmon Valley and put down in some cases after being struck by vehicles, Bakker says the majority were put down within city limits and blames it on residential attractants.

“Attractants have to be managed from April to November.” He says attractants include unsecured garbage cans and bird seed feeders.