A Pitt Meadows man has been ordered to pay $7,360 and is prohibited from hunting for one year after he killed two black bears on his property.
The BC Conservation Officer Service says Christian Hall pleaded guilty last December to one count of killing wildlife not within open season and one count of attracting “dangerous wildlife to land or premises under the Wildlife Act.”
The BCCOS says it received reports of a dead black bear in a Pitt Meadows field in May 2022. When an officer arrived to the location, the BCCOS says a resident “admitted to shooting the bear in his yard.”
“After further investigation, the man admitted to shooting a second black bear in his yard two days prior. A large pile of waste honey boards and beehive debris on the man’s property was found which is an attractant to bears,” the service explained Monday.
Hall was sentenced on Friday, the service says, adding $6,000 of his fine will be paid to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. His sentence also requires that he take the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education (CORE) program, which is B.C.’s hunter safety and ethics course.
The BCCOS says the Wildlife Act prohibits black bears, which are “considered dangerous wildlife,” to be killed within 100 metres of a residence, including a person’s own home.
It is also against the act to “leave an attractant on any land or premises in a manner in which it could attract and be accessible to dangerous wildlife.”