Canada Post and animal encounters: What to bear in mind
Posted September 8, 2018 2:42 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
METRO VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Remember that UPS driver in North Carolina who could not deliver a package because of a “bear in driveway”?
As it turns out, the same thing happens in Vancouver — which is no stranger to bears — more than you might think.
Canada Post’s Phil Legault says letter carriers do encounter animals when they are out on the job.
“Regionally, there are certainly animals who pose problems,” Legault tells NEWS 1130. “As we saw a couple of years ago, where one of our delivery agents left a card basically saying, the reason why they couldn’t deliver the parcel was, there was a bear at the door.”
When they cross paths with local wild life, the primary concern for staff, customers and their mail, is safety. So how do they handle it?
“We definitely prepare them for specific animals when we know of the incidents that are going on, but also generally for times when the bears might be coming out of hibernation or that there might be more sightings that we hear about,” Lagault says.
If you see wildlife in your area, never approach the animal or try to feed it and call your local wildlife service.
People are reminded to wildlife-proof their homes, by not leaving attractants out and securing garbage, for example, in order to keep animals like bears away.
Don’t forget, purposely attracting dangerous wild animals, such as bears, is illegal in B.C. and can result in fines and even possible jail time.
-With files from Hana Mae Nassar
