TheStashYourTrash.cawebsite and#StashYourTrashpledgewere created to raise awareness and create an educational resource for communities facing conflict with wildlife. In most circumstances, human conflict with wildlife can be traced to resources; frequently, the available resources that changes wildlife behaviour and creates conflict comes from people.
This can include direct and indirect feeding of native wildlife.
Feeding a hungry or cute animal may make people feel good, but the interaction can create unforeseen consequences – most of which come at the expense of the wildlife involved.
The original need for this intiative comes from British Columbia where over 4,000 black bears were killed by the BC Conservation Officer Service(BC COS) following reports from residents in the last several years. In the 2019 reporting year,22% of the time BC COS officers attended a call related to black bears, the a black bear was killed. While The Fur-Bearers has significant concerns about how the BC COS chooses to respond to wildlife calls, it is true that by reducing the way humans impact the animals (particularly with feeding and attractants) we can reduce the amount of conflict and therefore the number of individuals killed. While many of the tips and much of the information throughout this website are focused on black bears, a great deal of it can also be applied to other wildlife found in urban and rural settings, such as coyotes, skunks, raccoons, possums, squirrels and others.
The#StashYourTrash pledgeis an opportunity for community members to engage and show their support of attractant management as a means of protecting local and future wildlife. This website will continue to evolve from its initial launch on March 19, 2020 (the first day of spring) as new and relevant information becomes available.
It is funded entirely by The Fur-Bearers.
Want to take the pledge and check out the new website? CLICK HERE!
