Family feeds black bears in North Vancouver backyard even though that's illegal under Wildlife Act

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      Social-media images have shown children and their parents handing snacks to bear cubs from their family's backyard window.

      And that has prompted an investigation by the B.C. Conservation Service.

      The video can be seen on the Global News website.

      In one Instagram post, a black bear taps on the window and is then fed.

      In other post, a window is opened and a cub is hand-fed by a child.

      The family's identity has been concealed in the images in the Global News video.

      Under the Wildlife Act it's illegal to intentionally feed or attempt to feed dangerous wildlife.

      It's also an offence to "provide, leave or place an attractant in, on or about any land or premises with the intent of attracting dangerous wildlife".

      The Get Bear Smart Society states on its website: "Bears that are intentionally or unintentionally fed by people become accustomed to being around people and are more likely to cause property damage or inadvertently injure a person. Unfortunately, bears that are fed and come into frequent contact with people are often destroyed, not for what they have done, but for what people are afraid they might do."

      It's why it's often said that a fed bear becomes a dead bear.

      "Bears that become comfortable near people and built-up areas are also more likely to be involved in a vehicle accident, possibly causing injury or death to both the people in the vehicle and the bear," the society notes.

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