Social media video of a black bear being pestered by people while feasting on fish on the shores of the Campbell River has sparked outrage online and among locals.
The video was posted seven weeks ago to Instagram by user B100k and has now caught the attention of residents in the Vancouver Island city, located about 225 kilometres north of Victoria, B.C.
The video, shot by someone on a bridge looking down at a beach, shows a group of people with fishing gear fixated on a black bear eating at the river’s edge.
Members of the group get within inches of the animal as they pose for selfies and take photos of it. Toward the end of the video, one of the individuals attempts to pet the bear.
Campbell River resident here, the bear situation here is getting bad. City has a bylaw that explicitly permits people to put their garbage out the day before garbage day, directly contradicting the federal laws about securing bear attractants.
Add to that the complete lack of bylaw enforcement around securing bear attractants and the number of habituated bears in the area is super high. There are at least 4 animals likely needing to be destroyed this year in Campbell River alone there are more if you include the other cities in the area.
Current council is more concerned with persecution of the homeless and any business that treats them like humans. All bylaw enforcement seems to be 100% focused on that.