Remember those photos of a bear being hand-fed Tim Hortons Timbits?
Well, a British Columbia man has now been convicted of unlawfully feeding bear after pleading guilty in provincial court. The man was fined $2,000 and orders to keep at least 50 metres away from bears for six months.
Randy Scott shared photos of the mini-doughnut feeding frenzy on social media.
The British Columbia Conservation Service said it was during the summer of 2017, that officials in the Peace region received complaints about people feeding bears along the Alaska Highway. But it wasn’t until October, 2018 when charges were laid under the B.C. Wildlife Act.
On Aug 22/19, the individual who posted pictures on social media of himself feeding bears along the Alaska Hwy and, therefore, was charged by BCCOS for unlawfully feeding bears pled guilty in Prov Court & was fined $2k & ordered to stay away a min of 50m from bears for 6 months. pic.twitter.com/uBUmEVWwld
— BC CO Service (@_BCCOS) August 27, 2019
Randy Scott and co-accused Megan Hiltz each faced one count of feeding or attempting to feed dangerous wildlife.
A Facebook paged belonging to someone named Randy Scott did feature photos of a number of bears and a bin of what appeared to be Tim Hortons mini-doughnuts on June 12 with the caption, “Thousand timbits ready for bear feeding.”
That post has since been deleted.
But another is still there.
Even as the case wound its way through the court system, Scott’s Facebook page contained more photos of food being offered to a bear.
According to B.C. Court Services, the charge against Hiltz was stayed.
Still, the conclusion to the case was applauded.
Thank you! Your actions will hopefully deter others from feeding wildlife. Education & enforcement are a powerful combination. #Awesomejob
— The Fur-Bearers (@FurBearers) August 27, 2019
Thank you! Idiots like those need to learn. The bears are the ones paying with their lives because humans think it’s cute to feed wildlife.
— evilvdub43 (@evilvdub43) August 28, 2019
But there was also some disappointment.
Not a big enough punishment!
— tis me…really! (@angiereid) August 27, 2019
Photos B.C. Conservation Officer Service/Facebook
