CALGARY—Alberta Parks officials say that people who let their dogs off leash in protected areas are putting themselves and the surrounding wildlife at risk, and more needs to be done to stop it.

John Paczkowski, an Alberta Environment and Parks ecologist who works in Canmore, Alta., said the problem almost certainly goes beyond the number of reported cases park officials see.

He said it’s especially important for people to know the risks after seeing video of an off-leash dog running after a bear that a Canmore resident shared on Facebook.

The footage isn’t surprising, he said, given that a two-year study in the Bow Valley captured images of tens of thousands of off-leash dogs in areas where owners should have legally kept them on a leash.

“They’re using protected areas and other areas as their off-leash park,” Paczkowski said. “People just behaving irresponsibly is what it comes down to.”

Fines for having a dog off its leash in a prohibited area start at $115, and Paczkowski said they increase for repeat offences. Despite signs and education campaigns to make sure people know what isn’t allowed, this summer, Alberta Parks hired two additional park rangers in the Bow Valley to catch people who aren’t following the rules in protected areas.

That’s led to a 240 per cent increase this year in tickets handed out to people with off-leash dogs, Paczkowski said. “And our year’s not over,” he added.

“We are finally starting to really grasp the extent and severity of the problem,” he said.

Taking unleashed dogs out on hiking trails not only poses safety risks to pets and their owners — Paczkowski said he knows of cases where agitated female bears with cubs attacked humans after encountering their dogs — but it can also change the way animals move through their own habitats.

Unleashed dogs can even hurt wildlife if they’re disturbed at a vulnerable time.

“For species like deer, especially in the spring, they’re on a paper thin line between making it from the winter to the summer, “ Paczkowski said. “They’re skin and bones, basically. And if they’re getting chased by dogs, that might push them over the edge and cause them to die.”

Pushing for people to behave more responsibly with dogs in wildlife corridors is also part of a series of recommendations made by the Bow Valley Human-Wildlife Coexistence round table, a group convened to address concerns about wildlife encounters around Canmore.

“What seems like a benign interaction with a dog chasing wildlife could in fact have severe, severe consequences,” Paczkowski said.

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