An electrified fence installed around the perimeter of a private berry farm next to Minnekhada Regional Park in Coquitlam has received a cool reception from parks staff at Metro Vancouver.
Frieda Schade, a Metro regional district planner, said the fence is too close to Oliver Road, a route many people and their dogs use as a recreational path to access the park.
"The fence was put up to prevent bears from going into the berry patch," she said. "Unfortunately, he has not picked a very good location to put that fence."
Conservation officers and the city of Coquitlam, she added, are pleased the fence is up to protect bears but they acknowledge the location is not ideal.
But Mark Robinson, whose family owns Minnekhada Berry Growers, said the company is within its rights to place the fence where it is.
The road is jointly owned, with the south side belonging to the Robinsons and the north side controlled by Metro Vancouver. The unique arrangement does not exist anywhere else in the park system, according to Schade.
Robinson said a recent Coquitlam council decision banning hunting in the area prompted the family to install the fence. "If they would let us do our regular hunts down here, it would be perfectly fine," he said. "At least we are controlling the [bear] population."
Robinson was one of several people involved in a licensed and legal bow and arrow hunt on the property last year that wounded a bear. The animal was found dead a day later after wandering into Minnekhada.
That prompted the city of Coquitlam to act and, in a 5-4 decision last week, council voted to ban bow hunting and restrict the discharge of firearms in the municipality. The new bylaw, which imposes a $300 fine for a violation, bans gun used on farmland unless the owner needs to protect his crops, as allowed under provincial legislation.
Robinson said anyone who touches the fence will receive a jolt but it will not do any permanent damage to a person or a dog. "It would give you a good zap," he said. "You aren't going to touch it ever again."
He added that there are plenty of signs to let people know the fence is electrified and he does not fear any legal repercussions should a person or animal accidentally get zapped.
"You would have to be an idiot to touch that fence," he said.
