Alberta to allow rehab of orphaned black bear cubs in coming weeks

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Dykstra said a new policy will be in place in “weeks, but not months.”

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It wasn’t immediately clear what will happen to any orphaned bears found this spring before any changes take effect.

A wildlife sanctuary operator in southern Alberta said her facility is ready to take orphaned animals, but she said she’s not holding her breath.

“They can change a policy as easily as they change their socks or underpants,” said Clio Smeeton, director of the Cochrane Research Institute, which rescues, rehabilitates and releases injured and orphaned wildlife. “It’s just a matter of writing something down.

“There is over 30 years of solid scientific research and peer-reviewed published papers, including some we’ve published, that show that wildlife rehab works.”

The province said Wednesday it will allow the compassionate rehabilitation of orphaned black bear cubs in circumstances where returning them to the wild is not the best option.

It will also consider public safety and the resources of rehabilitation centres, said Dykstra.

“Our desired outcome would be … safely returning the animal to its native habitat so it can succeed in the wild.”

Three black bear cubs were found abandoned in a washroom along the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park a year ago. They were sent to a rehabilitation facility in Ontario and are set to return to the national park this year.

There was also a public outcry after an Alberta facility wasn’t able to take in a young black bear found injured along a highway near Calgary.

British Columbia and Saskatchewan have bear rehabilitation centres, but they do not accept out-of-province bears.

There are bear rehabilitation facilities in central Ontario that accept bears from other provinces, but the Ontario government insists that the animals be returned to the province of origin for release.

Colette Derworiz, The Canadian Press