Inuvik's grisly grizzly problem

Inuvik has a bear problem, and experts say the only viable solution may be a deadly one. Researchers from the Department of Environment found that around 40 grizzlies were regularly feeding at the dump. This summer, an electrified fence was finally completed. The fence took years to install and cost close to a million dollars. But the problem didn't go away. It just moved. There were generations of bears who had only ever known the dump as a food source. And without access, they starved or came into town looking for food. They would just do these laps. around the dump. They would just be emaciated and sickly. They don't know what to do with themselves, and quite frankly, we don't know what to do Officers shot 28 bears, but Hawley says more were shot by community members. Officials say it was the most humane choice. Lots of people questioning why was the town doing this, and isn't it better to just let the bears feed at the landfill in the long term? No, it's not better, because this is the situation you get. The NWT government has tried to relocate bears before, but they almost immediately returned. Experts say once the bear associates people with food, going back to the wild is nearly impossible. So where are you going to move them to? You're going to move them into someone else's home, right? Either the bear that's already established in that area will kill that bear that's moved in, or worse yet, the bear that's moved in may be bigger than that other bear that's foraging naturally and kill that bear and then have trouble itself. You see, nothing's clear-cut. Moving bears is not the solution. The solution is... Getting rid of what's causing the problems, and that is those open pit garbage dumps, and getting them closed. She says people created these problem bears, and so it's up to people to fix it. The Inuvik dump is the only one in the Beaufort Delta to be fenced. But many other communities across the NWT lack fences or have inadequate protection keeping wildlife out. The government says now that the fence is up in Inuvik, the bear population should normalize over the next couple of years. As long as that fence stays on. Jessica Davy-Quantick, CBC News, Yellowknife.