Twenty wild grizzly bears have been killed in Alberta so far this year, 14 of which were euthanized through the province’s Wildlife Management Responder Network. Six bears were killed by Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services. The Wildlife Management Responder Program began in 2024 and allows pre-approved Albertans with recreational hunting licenses to be called upon to track and deal with specific problem animals like grizzlies. Responders are allowed to keep all parts of the bear except the gallbladder. The Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) has raised concerns about the program, citing an increase from one bear killed under it in 2025 and just four that were killed this year as of June. “We have no information on the reasons behind the sudden increase in bear removals,” said Ruiping Luo, conservation specialist with AWA. “We don’t know why these bears were considered problem animals, how the province decided these bears needed to be killed, or the extent to which these deaths are impacting the population.” The Ministry of Forestry and Parks says all removals under the program follow the same protocols used by Fish and Wildlife officers, who direct responders under the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan. “An increase in removals through the Wildlife Responder Program reflects an increase in use of the network, not a shift in the number of bears that would have been removed by an officer,” said a statement from the ministry to CTV News. “There are more interactions with grizzly bears today than years past, and more Albertans are encountering them as a result.” In 2010, grizzly bears were classified as threatened by the Alberta government due to the population size, human-caused mortality rate and questionable habitat quality. The Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan includes strategies for monitoring bear populations, reducing human-caused deaths, managing unnatural food attractants, and providing outreach and educational programs. A guideline for responders classifies four main factors used to determine an appropriate response to human-bear conflict or property damage that include age, sex and family status (sow with cub, orphan, etc.), the animal’s behaviour, the location of the incident relative to recovery objectives, and its known conflict history. The AWA said it filed an Access to Information request in January, asking for more information on the Wildlife Management Responder Network. A partial release was received in April, but the AWA says no information on how problem bears were identified, what information hunters were provided, or if any other actions were attempted before a bear was euthanized. “The rise in conflicts we are seeing is consistent with a growing, recovering grizzly bear population moving further into areas where people live, work and recreate,” said the ministry. “That is a sign the recovery plan is doing what it was designed to do, not a sign that management has failed.” CTV News Edmonton requested data from the province on the recent increase in grizzlies killed under the program, but only a statement was provided.
