Bear incident near Sooke prompts reminder for residents to secure garbage

After a black bear got into unsecured garbage in East Sooke, southern Vancouver Island communities are being reminded to secure their garbage and food waste. 

This reminder came from the Wild Wise Society (WWS), a volunteer-driven group committed to reducing human-wildlife conflict and fostering peaceful coexistence through awareness and education. 

According to the organization, there has been an influx in reports of bears getting into unsecured attractants such as food waste in garbage cans. 

When these incidents happen, it can often lead to bears continuing to search garbage cans in populated areas, which sometimes can lead to human-wildlife conflict. 

These situations can sometimes lead to the bear having to be killed. 

BC Parks often use the motto “a fed bear is a dead bear” to discourage parks’ visitors from feeding bears and other wildlife. This is because once a bear has a taste for human food, they will continue to seek it out. 

“We understand that it can be distressing to hear about a bear losing [its] life as a result of a human-wildlife conflict,” wrote WWS in a social media post. 

“Proactively securing attractants truly can help prevent the unnecessary death of bears.”

Earlier this week, there were two incidents in BC that brought concern to the WWS. 

In East Sooke, a visitor witnessed a bear getting into a garbage bag that was not securely discarded. 

He stopped to take a picture and share the information with WWS as he thought it served as a good reminder to keep garbage stored safely. 

While this bear has not been put down, if this behaviour continues, it may have to be. 

An example of this is a situation that occurred in Nelson where a bear did have to be killed by the BC Conservation Officer Service (BC COS).

BC COS shared that the grizzly was killed because it showed signs of food-conditioned behaviour and had a lost fear of people significantly. 

The bear frequented residences looking for unnatural food sources and was regularly getting close to people in the populated area. 

BC COS had already relocated the grizzly once, along with her two cubs, but because of the bear’s food-conditioning and comfort in residential areas, it had to be killed. 

WWS noted that just because a bear is reported, doesn’t mean it will be automatically killed. In 2025, BC COS received 13,672 reports involving black bears across the province and only 178 were destroyed, or killed, the lowest number recorded since 2011.

Following this incident in Nelson, WWS says that they were dismayed by people targeting governmental bodies online for carrying out their work. 

“While it is understandable that people are upset about the loss of any bear, we have been even more disappointed to witness the relentless bullying and personal attacks directed at government staff, agencies and even volunteers who worked hard to try to avoid this outcome,” wrote WWS. 

“No one deserves to be bullied for simply doing their job or volunteering their time in an effort to be helpful.”

The organization says that while they support and advocate for long-term changes to human-wildlife conflict, proactive measures to keep bears safe are the best way to make changes in the present. 

“If you see unsecured attractants, talk to your neighbours, share information, support local education efforts and report ongoing concerns through the appropriate channels,” WWS added. 

“Help people understand what they can do differently before a conflict occurs.”

The organization urges those who regularly observe unsecured wildlife attractants to report them to local municipal bylaw offices. 

They also noted that Sooke, Langford and Colwood all have  securing attractant bylaws, but Metchosin, East Sooke and Juan de Fuca do not. 

Ultimately, WWS asks that south island residents put in an effort to secure garbage and recycling, compost, pet food, bird feeders, livestock, fruit trees and other attractants.