Photo by BearSmart
As summer wraps up The Fur-Bearers want to take a look at some of the impact we had this season for black bears – and how you helped make it happen.
BC Conservation Officer Service
With over 500 black bears killed by this government agency annually, monitoring their data and actions, and holding the BC COS to account is an ongoing priority for The Fur-Bearers. This year, as we prepared our Deadliest Communities for BC Black Bears list, we discovered discrepancies in how black bear deaths were being tracked by the BC COS. You can read more about what we found, the impact it has, and what we expect to see change by clicking here.
More than 25 media articles on black bears featured The Fur-Bearers through July and August, ensuring that the needs of these majestic animals were heard by hundreds of thousands of people, putting the agency responsible for many deaths in the spotlight, and highlighting how individual homeowners can make a difference by managing attractants. You can see the full list (not including articles that were syndicated) by clicking here.
Webinar
We hosted a webinar in which Executive Director Lesley Fox spoke to passionate advocates and curious individuals about the factors contributing to the alarming trend of black bears being killed in BC. Through the session, attendees learned about what The Fur-Bearers is doing to help black bears – and how their support can make an impact.
Educational Videos
As part of our Deadliest Communities for BC Black Bears program, we targeted the top three communities with localized advertisements on YouTube – resulting in nearly 100,000 impressions in the communities that needed it most. We also produced numerous social media videos, which generated significant attention and helped spread vital information about how to coexist with black bears, that they need not be feared in our communities, and that managing attractants can help prevent negative encounters.
Follow our YouTube channel and Instagram channels to get the latest videos!
Our educational door hangers – pamphlets that can be attached to a door or mailbox – provide vital information on black bear behaviour, attractant management, and how to prevent negative encounters. We distributed well over 1,500 individual bear door hangers to dozens of communities this year, and that number is likely to continue increasing. Learn more about bear door hangers (and order them FREE) by clicking here.
All of these successes are a direct result of our compassionate supporters – people like you! If you’d like to donate to support our campaigns and programs that improve the lives of black bears in British Columbia and across Canada, please click here. Donations are eligible for Canadian charitable tax receipts and can also be sent as gifts with eCards (click here for details).
Thank you to everyone who helped increase our impact for black bears this summer!
