York Reg. police shoot black bear

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York Regional Police are getting a lot of blow back tonight after they shot and killed a black bear that was first seen roaming through residential backyards in Newmarket on Saturday. In a statement, police said that they were forced to kill the bear this morning because it posed a threat to public safety.

The bear was first seen early Saturday morning and York Regional Police contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources, the only group equipped to deal with bears, and the Ontario Society for the prevention of cruelty to animals among other groups in order to locate and capture the bear.

This morning police found the bear in a tree near an elementary school. They tried to keep the bear in place until MNR staff arrived by making noises. The bear eventually scaled down the tree and with no MNR officials present, police opened fire. The Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry said that he’s standing by York Regional Police.

#Newmarketbear was tweeted as much as 470 times per hour when news broke that the bear had been shot. Most of the online activity was negative towards York Regional police and the ministry.

Police responded to the concerns on Twitter saying: “Officers do not have tranquilizers or other options for dealing with wildlife. We could not let the bear harm a person while waiting for the Ministry of Natural Resources.”

The Halton police found themselves in a similar situation 3 years ago, when police killed a black bear that was found in Burlington’s Mountainside park.