Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam are clamping down on residents who leave their garbage unsecured as bears start moving into neighbourhoods seeking high-calorie food.
In Coquitlam, as many as 62 homes have been ticketed with $500 fines this year with 339 warnings handed out. City officials have also responded to 252 calls.
In Port Coquitlam, meanwhile, 83 warnings have been handed out to residents not locking up their food waste with three $150 tickets issued for unsecured wildlife attractants.
Both cities have teams of people working on education and enforcement in the city. In PoCo, for example, two ambassadors have been hired to explain to residents how to sort their waste, lock their waste carts and follow water restrictions. They will also issue warnings for non-compliance.
Meanwhile, conservation officers are also fielding dozens of queries every day from residents concerned about bears in their neighbourhood.
In one case, a bear plucked a bag of garbage from an unsecured bin in Chineside in Coquitlam and feasted on raw chicken. He subsequently returned to the neighbourhood on garbage day two days later.
Already four bears have been destroyed this spring in the Tri-Cities for property damage and other conflict behaviour related to unsecured garbage.
