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Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Fred Mansveld said
police believe two growers arrested in the raid had used dog food to lure
the animals onto the remote property in southeastern British Columbia, to
deter marijuana thieves.
Police commonly find dogs, human guards or booby-traps on Canadian marijuana
growing operations or "grow-ops." In comparison, these bears did a very poor
job as guard animals when five policemen arrived.
"They were tame, they just sat around watching... at one point one of the
bears climbed onto the hood of a police car, sat there for a bit and then
jumped off," said Mansveld.
He said the officers involved in the July 30 raid were all familiar with
wild animals, and while wary, were not afraid of the bears once they
realized the animals were not aggressive.
Black bears are common throughout Canada, and except in the cases of mothers
with cubs, usually live solitary lives in the wilderness. It is against
provincial law to feed them.
By feeding them, said Dave Webster, a conservation officer with the
provincial government who launched an investigation of the case on
Wednesday, the marijuana growers delivered "a death sentence for the wild
animals." |
