VANCOUVER — Never underestimate the power of a Timbit, it could just land you a $2,000 fine.
As reported by Global News, Randy Scott, 32 of British Columbia, has been slapped with the hefty fine in his home province after feeding the bite-sized donut to a bear along the Alaska Highway.
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
Scott posted a photo of himself feeding the bear to Instagram between June and July 2016. He pleaded guilty to one count of feeding or attempting to feed dangerous wildlife.
B.C.’s conservation officer says Scott was also ordered to keep a distance of at least 50 metres from bears for six months by a provincial court judge on Aug. 22.
Shawn Brinsky, acting inspector for the conservation officer service in the Peace region, says charges were stayed by the Crown against a woman who faced the same allegations.
According to Brinsky, officers never found the young grizzly but they’ve seen numerous examples where aggressive bears expect to be fed again, including a tourist who received a deep bite on her hand while taking a photo from her vehicle.
“We’ve had in the past a number of incidences where tourists, highway travellers and highway workers have had some pretty risky and close encounters by bears,” he said Wednesday.
Brinsky added that when bears get conditioned to receive food from people driving along a highway, both the bears and those who feed them are in danger.
“It might come across as cute but it’s not just illegal, it’s dangerous for the public and extremely dangerous for the wildlife,” he said.
With file from The Canadian Press
