‘Tame’ bears near Christina Lake given reprieve
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by Chris Shepherd in Environment, West Kootenay |
This image, captured from a video posted online, shows Allen Piche feeding one of the dozens of bears on his property near Christina Lake. Conservation officers say Piche can continue to feed the bears until they go into hibernation.
The province has said a Christina Lake man can continue to feed dozens of black bears until they go into hibernation this winter. The man, Allen Piche, has also posted a video online that shows unique footage of the bears on his property.
The bears were discovered after police busted a marijuana grow-op near Christina Lake. Initially, police thought the animals were used to keep away potential pot thieves, but according to Piche, he had been feeding the bears for 10 years.
In a video, see below, Piche says there have been many inaccuracies about what has been reported in the media, namely the bears were not kept to guard the marijuana.
Initially, conservation officers said they may have to destroy the bears, which had been fed dog food. The province has backed away from that option for the moment.
Rick Hildebrand, the superintendent of B.C.’s conservation service, confirmed Piche and his partner will be allowed to continue to feed the bears, because if the animals go hungry, they might become a danger to the public.
“If we cut them off cold turkey, then we are concerned about sudden rash change of behavior,” Hildebrand said. “It’s kind of allowing them to simulate natural behaviour as much as possible so they can go to den and not cause any public safety issues.”
Source: CBC.
After winter, when the bears come out of hibernation, the bears will have to fend for themselves, Hilderbrand told the CBC.
In his video, Piche says he has made some suggestions as to what to do with the bears after hibernation and he asks the public to share their ideas as well. There is a Facebook page dedicated to this issue here and some interesting discussions between Piche and people critical of his actions.
Piche and his partner are still facing charges under the Wildlife Act for feeding the animals as well as criminal charges for growing marijuana.
See the CBC for the full story.
6 Responses to “‘Tame’ bears near Christina Lake given reprieve”
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I’d love to hear the whole story.
24 bears and at least one very frisky raccoon.
Thank you for that video. I was expecting a nut-job but he is articulate and thoughtful. He obviously cares deeply for these animals.
It just keeps getting stranger.
He is articulate but he really doesn’t get at why he fed the bears.
One was obviously injured (missing a leg) but the rest seemed like normal bears.
There’s no denying Allen cares about the animals but I can’t help but feel his caring has been expressed in a way that could be detrimental to the bears.
Agreed.
It’s heart warming and quite incredible to see people commune so intimately with nature. Sadly, this kind of relationship and on such a grand scale, is not a natural one and can only be sustained in very rare circumstances.
In the interview he seems to side step the details but he has definitely piqued my interest.