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Letter: Bears live here, too — don't kill them

The Editor, Re. " 3 people arrested, 3 bears are killed " and " Bear that made itself at home is caught, destroyed " (The Tri-City News, Aug. 1). It is truly heartbreaking to hear bears were killed again in Coquitlam by BC Conservation officers.
Family of bears

The Editor,

Re. "3 people arrested, 3 bears are killed" and "Bear that made itself at home is caught, destroyed" (The Tri-City News, Aug. 1).

It is truly heartbreaking to hear bears were killed again in Coquitlam by BC Conservation officers. The animals have their families and they have a right to carry their lives in the natural areas.

Canada is a country rich in nature and we should be proud of having so many wild animals in our community. Look around many developed cities, surrounded by just solid concrete, plastics and hard, man-made structures — but no songs of birds or sounds of insects. Our community is rich in nature and wildlife, and I am proud of it.

We should not forget that decades ago, this was a wild country, and we humans invaded and took their living quarters, causing many animals and birds to lose their lives already.

I know conservation officers need to protect people but I sincerely hope they simply do not kill animals, removing them, instead. (Arresting residents who protest the killing of bears was disappointing as well, making the incident more difficult to accept.)

Let's make our community more livable and rich in nature by understanding role of wildlife. Let's not just assume this is a human-owned place but respect the lives of the longtime population.

Let's not hate our wildlife as they, too, are trying to go about their lives. We can live safely together. Let's always keep in our minds that this is their land, too, and we live together.

Kiyoshi Takahashi, Coquitlam