B.C. conservation officers warn pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns are bear attractants

The Conservation Officer Service of British Columbia has some advice for residents living in bear prone areas as Halloween festivities take place this evening.

The concervation service says it’s best to limit the length of time jack-‘o-lanterns are left outside in neighbourhoods where bear activity is frequent, as the pumpkins are a bear attractant.

“One of the best things you can do to prevent attracting bears to pumpkins around your home is to extinguish any candles and take them inside at night – especially on Halloween night, when visitors stop coming around,” the service said in a Facebook post Oct. 30.

The advice comes on the heels of two inidents in the Okanagan earlier this month, in West Kelowna and Penticton, where multiple bears were destroyed after becoming habituated to garbage and other neighbourhood attractants.

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