After more than a year since the Alberta government introduced a team of hunters to deal with problematic grizzly bears, the province has reported the killing of one bear. Ministry of Forestry and Parks press secretary Michael Plenits stated that out of four grizzly conflicts addressed by responders, only one bear was lethally removed due to livestock killings.
During a legislative session, Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen confirmed the bear’s death in mid-June near Twin Butte, a hamlet in Pincher Creek, Alberta. Grizzly bear hunting in Alberta has been prohibited since 2006, except in specific cases facilitated by the Wildlife Management Responder Network program initiated through a ministerial order in June 2024.
The network comprises trained hunters selected for the program, called upon to eliminate grizzly bears when necessary. The program allows responders to retain the bear’s meat, hide, and all parts except the gallbladder. Retired Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer John Clarke emphasized the importance of bear awareness to prevent human-grizzly conflicts, advocating for proactive measures to deter bears from populated areas.
Clarke criticized the approach of authorizing public members to shoot problem grizzlies instead of Wildlife officers, highlighting the risk of unintended targets. Minister Loewen defended the program as a response to negative grizzly-human interactions, attributing the rise in encounters to the expanding grizzly bear population in Alberta. The province’s grizzly bear recovery plan focuses on habitat restoration and education programs to promote co-existence with bears and reduce conflicts.
