Vancouver Park Board moving forward with plan to fine people who feed animals

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Vancouver’s park board has given the go-ahead to a plan that would see people fined for feeding animals, including coyotes.

During a meeting Monday evening, the board unanimously approved a plan to draft a by-law setting out penalties and outlining how enforcement will be undertaken.

This is an important step in deterring people from feeding wildlife both directly or inadvertently in parks. Feeding wildlife can make them more aggressive; even feeding small animals increases the amount of prey available for dangerous wildlife. #keepwildlifewild 2/2

— Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (@ParkBoard) September 28, 2021

Commissioner Tricia Barker describes the move as the “first part of the process. A draft by-law will come back to the board on Oct. 4. In the interim, Barker says some crucial details need to be ironed out.

“There was a lot of discussion about how much the fine should be. There was one topic that came up that was very, very important: How can we enforce this? Having a bylaw is great, but we need to have a way to enforce it,” she explains, noting currently park rangers can’t hand out tickets.

“We have a bylaw we have to be able to have people to enforce it.”

The vote comes after at least 45 people were recently hurt by coytes in Stanley Park. BC Conservation Officers Service says as a result of “unlawful human behaviour,” 11 coyotes were put down. The park was closed overnight for several weeks.

Barker says making sure people can safely enjoy Stanley Park is a priority for the board.

“Whatever we can do to make that happen, we are going to push that through as quickly as we can,” she says.

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Attracting or feeding dangerous wildlife, including coyotes, bears or cougars, is already banned under the Provincial Wildlife Act and a park board bylaw prohibits leaving food or grain anywhere except in a garbage can.

However, the park board believes the provincial act only applies to feeding dangerous wildlife, and does not extend to other urban wildlife. The park board also suggests that provincial enforcement resources are “stretched,” making enforcement of the act difficult.

A report from park board staff says human feeding of wildlife “interferes with normal foraging, hunting and population numbers. It is physically unhealthy for animals, and encourages food-conditioning that can lead to aggressive behavior,” and recommended enacting an amended by-law.

“Once enacted, it will be more clear that feeding any wildlife, either directly or indirectly, is prohibited in Vancouver parks and anyone contravening these by-laws may be fined. This will assist with deterring this harmful behaviour.”

Staff recommended a fine of $500, however the exact amount will be decided by the board at its next meeting.

Last week, two people were arrested and had their vehicle seized in connection to allegedly feeding coyotes in Stanley Park.

With files from Greg Bowman