A bear roaming the South Shore reportedly killed a goat behind a house on Tuesday, as state wildlife officers gave out tricks to defend livestock from black bears.
The bear — which has been noticed a number of occasions within the area throughout the previous few months — was seen about 60 yards behind a Hanson residence Tuesday morning. After the bear left the realm, a Massachusetts Environmental Police officer discovered a useless goat within the woods behind the house.
While bear assaults on chickens is “happening constantly now” within the Bay State, these bear assaults on bigger animals like goats are “far less common,” in response to black bear knowledgeable Dave Wattles.
“Every single bear in the state has been trained to go into backyards due to bird feeders, so it’s important that residents don’t have any accessible food sources on their property to draw bears in, so no bird feeders,” Wattles, a black bear and furbearer biologist with MassWildlife, instructed the Herald on Tuesday.
“Bird feeders are contributing to these issues because they’re attracting bears to homes,” he added.
Wattles urges yard hen house owners to make use of electrical fencing to maintain bears away from their hen coops, and he stated livestock house owners may also use electrical fencing to assist hold bears out.
The useless goat was turned over to the Hanson Animal Control officer, and the resident obtained info on find out how to defend livestock from black bears.
“Unfortunately a resident reported to us today that our local bear and their livestock had a negative interaction,” the Hanson Police Department posted on social media.
“If you have small domestic animals please take steps to protect them and discourage the bear from trying to make them his/her next meal,” Hanson Police added.
Here are another ideas from MassWildlife, on find out how to defend livestock from black bears:
- Livestock feed attracts bears. Store feed in safe outbuildings protected by electrical fencing or in a bear-proof container. Avoid feeding livestock in a confined pen which a bear might enter.
- Avoid pasturing animals in distant areas, areas with close by heavy wooded cowl, or areas with wooded gullies or different pathways which bears might use.
- Do not go away carcasses of useless animals uncovered in fields. You ought to bury or incinerate them.
- Do not place supplemental meals close by as a distraction. This can appeal to or habituate bears and is counterproductive.
- Consider the usage of guard animals.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”