Alberta says 20 wild grizzly bears have been killed in the province so far this year. Fourteen were euthanized through the Wildlife Management Responder Network, while Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services killed six, according to information reported by CTV News Edmonton. The province did not provide CTV with data on the recent increase in removals under the program, responding only with a statement.

The Wildlife Management Responder Program began in 2024. It allows pre-approved Albertans who hold recreational hunting licences to be called on to track and deal with specific problem animals, including grizzlies. Responders may keep all parts of a bear except its gallbladder.

The Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) has raised concerns about the program and the increase in bears killed through it. One bear was killed under the program in 2025, while four had been killed this year by June, the association said. “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 said program removals 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,” the ministry said in a statement to CTV News. “There are more interactions with grizzly bears today than years past, and more Albertans are encountering them as a result.”

A responder guideline lists four main factors for deciding how to address conflicts between people and bears or damage to property. They include the bear’s age, sex and family status, such as whether it is a sow with cubs or an orphan; its behaviour; the incident’s location relative to recovery objectives; and its known history of conflict.

The AWA filed an Access to Information request in January seeking more details about the network and received a partial release in April. The association said the records did not explain how problem bears were identified, what information hunters received, or whether other actions were tried before a bear was euthanized.

Alberta classified grizzly bears as threatened in 2010, citing population size, human-caused mortality and uncertain habitat quality. The recovery plan includes population monitoring, efforts to reduce human-caused deaths, management of unnatural food attractants, and public outreach and education.

The ministry said rising conflicts are consistent with a growing, recovering population moving into areas where people live, work and recreate. “That is a sign the recovery plan is doing what it was designed to do, not a sign that management has failed,” it said.

Based on reporting by CTV News Edmonton.