Police chiefs call for province to take over bear control

The Sault-based Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police is calling on Natural Resources Minister Jerry Ouellette to take back responsibility for bear management in the province.

Here's the full text of a statement released by the organization's Queen Street headquarters:

************************************************************************** The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) is calling on the Ontario government to put community safety first by putting responsibility of nuisance bears back into the hands of trained Ministry of Natural Resources personnel and out of the police services.

"Ontario Police officers are not trained in bear management. It is not a mandated, core policing function. Wildlife management is something that Ontarians expect the Ministry of Natural Resources to deliver; it's where the expertise and training lies," said OACP President Chief Thomas Kaye.

"Our job as police officers is to focus on core police services that protect the safety and security of Ontarians, not managing wildlife."

In 1997, the Ministry of Natural Resources stopped responding to nuisance bear calls. The OACP, in a letter to Minister Jerry Ouellette delivered today called on the Minister to resume this responsibility in light of increasing seriousness of the incidents of nuisance bears and the threat to public safety.

Police services across the province report that black bear sightings within municipal boundaries, particularly in northern Ontario, are increasing at an alarming rate and are expected to rise over the summer months. For example, Sault Ste. Marie Police Chief Bob Davies says that sightings within the city's municipal boundaries are up 245% over last year.

Police officers are often forced to kill bears in order to protect citizens because Ministry personnel, trained in tranquilization, capture, and relocation, will not respond to calls of bear sightings.

"Ontario police services are currently stretched beyond their means. This added responsibility removes officers from front-line and community policing and jeopardizes public safety" says Chief Thomas Kaye. "As police are not trained in the use of tranquilizers and are most often forced to destroy nuisance bears, it needs to be understood that a more humane response to these animals is only possible if the MNR agrees to resume this responsibility.

With the safety and security of Ontarians remaining the top priority for police, the OACP's position is that wildlife management remains a mandate of the MNR. The OACP calls on the government to put the safety of our communities first and to resume its rightful responsibility and manage Ontario's expanding bear population." ***************************************************************************

Chiefs 1, Bruins 0

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