File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Bear With Us

Quiet year for bear-human conflicts in Kamloops; specialized garbage bins proving effective

Nov 28, 2025 | 3:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — As the bears who roam the hills in the Kamloops area begin to bed down for the winter, officials say the first year of the city’s bear-resistant bin program has proven successful.

However, this year may not have provided much of a test for the garbage and recycling carts thanks to how few bears wandered inside city limits.

At the city’s Livability and Sustainability Committee meeting Thursday (Nov. 28), Environmental Services Supervisor Danielle Sparks reported 545 bear-resistant carts voluntarily leased by Kamloops households since they were rolled out in April.

Sparks noted only two cases of bears gaining access to locked bear-resistant bins but, in each case, the carabiner clips that hold the lids closed had been broken.

Otherwise, she notes bears largely kept away from the city in 2025.

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“This year, we have seen that human-bear conflict reports have been relatively low,” she said. “This is most likely due to an abundance of natural food sources for bears, therefore they were not coming into the community as frequently as we have seen in historical years.”

The quiet season was borne out by data from the BC Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS). Sparks noted the service destroyed 15 bears within city limits in 2023, four in 2024 and just two this year.

“There has been a reduction, but that is not necessarily due to any [City of Kamloops strategies.],” she said. “This is also due to a change in strategy from the BC Conservation Officer Service, on how they action those conflict bears within the community.”

More information on obtaining a bear-resistant cart can be found here.