Polar bear shot by wildlife officers near Catalina after being deemed public safety risk

Amid some public outrage, Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Fisheries and Land Resources says its officers shot and killed a polar on the Bonavista Peninsula this weekend as a last resort.

The animal was being tracked near the shoreline of Catalinathroughout the day Saturday, after first being spotted earlier in the morning.

The departmentsaid officers immediately started following its polar bear control management policy, which outlinesthe steps for containing a polar bear in a community.

The policy puts a priority on capturing the polar bear alive if possible, and suggests killing the animal only if it is deemed a public safety risk.

Last course of action

According to the department, conservation officers had originally planned to use a helicopter and tranquillizers to capture the bear alive, but the helicopter was unable to fly all day due to foggy and windy weather conditions.

As they continued to monitor the bear, the animalgradually moved closer to shore. Officers also set up a baited live trap, and used sirens and noise repellant to try to scare the bear back out on the sea ice.

After those techniques failedand the bear continued to move towards nearby homes and peopleofficers determined the bear was a public safety risk and decided to go with the lethal option.

"This decision is the very last course of action to take after all other options are exhausted and only taken when public safety is immediately at risk," the department wrote in a statement.

Reaction

CBC receivedseveral complaints frompeople upset that the bear was shot. There was also some debate on social media as to whether the decision to kill the animal was justified.

Burin bear

Meanwhile, the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources also had to deal with a reportof polar bear sighting on the Burin Peninsulathis weekend.

Officers were able to tranquillizethe bear in the Parker's Cove area Sunday evening, before successfully capturing and relocating it, according to the department.