B.C. FARMER BEARS BURDEN HE CAN NO LONGER FEED HIS FURRY 'FRIENDS'

The pot bears are back.

Allen Piche, the Christina Lake, B.C., farmer accused by police of
using docile black bears to guard a marijuana grow-op, says the
animals are coming out of hibernation and returning to his property
in search of a snack. But because Mr. Piche is no longer giving them
food, the bears he considers his friends aren't sticking around.

And while their lack of loyalty leaves him with a heavy heart, it may
very well save their lives.

RCMP discovered the group of two dozen bears on Mr. Piche's remote
property when they raided a suspected grow-op late last summer. Even
though the bears turned out to be quite tame and officers felt safe
enough to pose with them for pictures, police said they suspected the
bears had been trained to guard the grow-op.

It's a "ridiculous" accusation, said Mr. Piche, who has pleaded
guilty to one count of feeding dangerous wildlife, but has pleaded
not guilty to charges of running a grow-op. "Our friendship [between
Mr. Piche and the bears] goes back a long way."

For 12 years, Mr. Piche attracted the bears to his property with a
daily offering of dry dog food made from wheat and corn. Mr. Piche
would sit among the bears, talk to them and touch them. He gave them
names and felt like he got to know them.

But once wildlife officials learned of Mr. Piche's bears, they were
horrified. Bears that get used to being fed by humans can become
aggressive once the easy source of food disappears and they often
have to be destroyed to protect people and property.

At first, Mr. Piche was ordered to stop feeding the bears as
authorities mulled their fate. But as news of their plight spread,
public pressure to save the bears mounted. Eventually it was decided
to let Mr. Piche continue with the feedings until the bears went into
hibernation.

The hope was that if Mr. Piche refrained from putting out food once
they re-emerged, they would take off into the woods and fend for themselves.

So far this spring, about 20 bears have returned to Mr. Piche's
property. "I've gone out and said hello to them and said goodbye to
them and touched them," he said. "Except for this mother with the
triplets who stayed a little longer because it was raining, none of
them stayed longer than 10 minutes."

Mr. Piche said he is following the ministry's orders because he can't
afford not to, not because he thinks there is anything wrong with
what he was doing.

But not being able to feed his friends has been emotionally tough.

"I didn't think I'd be able to face these bears face to face and say,
'Look, I know I've known you since you were born but you got to go,' " he said.

He added that he is confident the bears will stay away once they
realize he is not putting out any more food. "My feeling is,
absolutely, they don't have to be killed," he said.

Government officials are not so sure, however.

"We're monitoring the situation to ensure that public safety isn't
threatened," said conservation officer Inspector Aaron Canuel.

He said that by feeding the bears, Mr. Piche put both himself and the
public at risk and that it far from certain how the bears will behave
over the long term.

"If a bear is destroying property or becoming a threat to somebody,
we will address that situation," he said.

While officials are willing to consider relocating the bears should
they become a problem, "that's not always the best option," Insp.
Canuel said. "Sometimes, to be frank, bears have to be destroyed.
When you've got a severely habituated bear that's basically not
stopping short of creating damage, we have to do that."