Grizzly bear conflict is back in the headlines, but the latest wave of alarming claims deserves a second look.
Recent attacks near Bella Coola, Cranbrook, and Cochrane have sparked a familiar chorus: this is the new normal, conflicts have doubled, and ending the grizzly hunt in 2017 caused it all. It’s a dramatic narrative—and an easy one to sell—but it doesn’t hold up to science or on-the-ground experience in places like the Elk Valley.
Grizzly encounters happen, and every injury is significant. But fatal or serious attacks in B.C. remain extremely rare, averaging less than one per year over decades. More people are using the backcountry than ever, more phones capture every incident, and more residents report every bear sighting. Rising call volumes to the Conservation Officer Service reflect better reporting—not a province-wide explosion of aggression.
A “call” is not an attack. A call is often a sighting, not a conflict.
Claims that removing “hunting pressure” created hundreds of “problem bears” simplify a complex issue into a slogan. Modern wildlife biology is clear: trophy hunting does not target food-conditioned or habituated bears. It removes random individuals while leaving the attractants that cause conflict untouched. Communities that don’t secure garbage, livestock feed, fruit trees, and backyard attractants will continue to create the same bear behaviour—hunt or no hunt.
Japan’s severe habitat loss is not comparable to B.C.’s vast, intact bear habitat. And Alberta’s political rhetoric about “everything being on the table” is posturing, not management. In fact, Alberta’s own scientists say there is no evidence supporting a grizzly hunt as a conflict-reduction tool.
Across the province—and especially here in the Elk Valley—conflict reduction comes from:
• proper attractant management
• wildlife-smart communities
• education for hikers, hunters, and dog owners
• secure garbage systems
• clear seasonal trail signage
• protecting habitat and travel corridors
This is the science-based model that has reduced conflict everywhere it’s used.
Suggesting that British Columbians now “can’t walk outside” due to rising grizzly encounters is not only untrue—it fuels policies that distract from the real solutions. The grizzly hunt was not ended on a whim. It reflected public values, Indigenous leadership, economics, and science showing that hunting does little to reduce conflict.
Living in bear country requires respect, awareness, and good management—not fear-driven narratives that oversimplify complex ecosystems.
Photo: Ania Tuzel
