South Shore residents warned to guard home animals after bear reportedly kills livestock

Residents of 1 South Shore neighborhood are being urged to “take steps” to guard their home animals after a bear reportedly killed livestock. 

The incident occurred Tuesday morning in Hanson, in line with police. 

“Sadly a resident reported to us at present that our native bear and their livestock had a detrimental interplay,” police stated. “If in case you have small home animals please take steps to guard them and discourage the bear from making an attempt to make them his/her subsequent meal.”

The Boston Herald reported a bear was noticed about 60 yards behind a house and later, a Massachusetts Environmental Police officer discovered a lifeless goat within the woods behind the home.

Dave Wattles, a black bear and furbearer biologist with MassWildlife, advised the newspaper that hen feeders are contributing to drawing bears to properties. 

“Each single bear within the state has been skilled to enter backyards as a result of hen feeders, so it’s necessary that residents don’t have any accessible meals sources on their property to attract bears in, so no hen feeders,” Wattles stated.

Police in Hanson urged residents to revisit suggestions from MassWildlife for avoiding conflicts with black bears. The suggestions embody:

• Taking down hen feeders
• Storing rubbish in closed containers in a storage or outbuilding, placing the barrels out earlier than pickup, quite than leaving them out in a single day
• Avoiding pasturing animals in distant areas or these with close by closely wooded cowl that could possibly be utilized by bears. 
• Storing livestock feed in safe outside buildings protected by an electrical fence or bear-proof container
• Conserving livestock in or close to a barn at evening if attainable
• Cleansing your grill after a barbecue, refraining from leaving meals scraps or spilled grease within the yard
• Conserving canine leashed, by no means letting the pups work together with or chase the bears