Halton police shoot and kill black bear roaming in Burlington
Posted May 16, 2012 5:51 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Halton police have shot and killed a black bear spotted roaming in a Burlington park Wednesday morning.
The animal appeared around 10 a.m. in Mountainside Park which is in a residential neighbourhood in the 407 and Brant street area. It was a large male black bear weighing about 180 kilograms.
Halton police say they contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources but they were unable to attend the scene to assist in relocating the animal.
Police also contacted Animal Control, who did attend the scene, but they were not equipped to be able to safely resolve the situation.
According to police, the shooting occurred in order to protect the public.
“There were no other options available to us unfortunately at that moment,” Sgt. Dave Cross with Halton police explained to 680News. “The bear was headed into a residential area. There were no alternatives that could have been done at that time.”
“We empathize with those members of the public who are distressed by today’s events. Our officers do not relish having to dispatch an animal, but our options were extremely limited. Given the particular circumstances, we could not risk public safety as the bear moved deeper into residential areas,” he explained.
Sgt. Cross said he’s not sure if it’s the same bear that was seen in Milton over the weekend.
