The story of the BC ‘pot’ bears became international news in summer 2010 – now PhD student Sara Dubois has recently published her 2011 community survey of Christina Lake residents in an article in the journal Animals. The two-phase phone survey of local attitudes documented varying beliefs about wildlife feeding and management actions for problem bear activity.
Summary: The “pot bears” received international media attention in 2010 after police discovered the intentional feeding of black bears during the investigation of an alleged marijuana-growing operation in Christina Lake, British Columbia. Residents of this small community were surveyed by phone twice over the following year, before and after government actions. This study aimed to understand local attitudes on how these bears should be managed and whether they differed from existing bear management policy. Results indicate a significant problem with the public view of wildlife feeding and a gap between public and expert opinion on relocation and killing of food-conditioned wildlife.
Read the full article: http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/3/3/935