2009 Edition of the Living with Predators Resource Guides
Bear-Resistant Products Testing Program
Bear-Resistant Products Testing Program
Testing of Bear-Resistant Products for Use on Private Lands
Testing with Black Bears
click here to see a product testing video clip!
Why Test Products Using Captive Bears
The past 5-10 years has seen a proliferation of new "bear-resistant" products being marketed and sold in North America. But not all of the products claiming to be "bear-proof" were actually effective at keeping bears out. The Living with Wildlife Foundation (LWWF) product testing program helps to screen out ineffective product designs before they are aggressively marketed by manufacturers. But most importantly, testing using captive bears helps prevent wild bears from becoming food conditioned by breaking into and getting food rewards from ineffective storage containers.
In 1989 the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) endorsed a testing program which involves a visual inspection and an impact test of containers that were being labeled as "bear-proof" or " bear-resistant." The program, which used captive grizzly bears to test products, focused on food storage containers and outfitter panniers that would be used on public lands in grizzly bear occupied areas in the Lower 48 States of America.
The original testing program didn't provide guidelines or standards for testing of products used primarily on private property or in areas occupied only by black bears. More specifically, the program did not test the effectiveness of bear-resistant garbage storage containers, dumpsters, or front-country feed storage containers for ranches and residences. So in October of 2009, LWWF launched an additional bear-resistant testing program which utilizes captive black bears at the Southwest Conservation Center in Scottsdale, Arizona to test garbage containers, livestock and pet food storage containers, recycling containers and other products that could be used to secure potential bear attractants on private lands.
In addition to evaluating how bear-resistant various products are, LWWF also uses the captive black bears to provide valuable information about the techniques used by black bears to access bear-resistant containers. The bears also provide valuable opportunities to research bears' sense of smell, learning techniques, and other potentially important physical and physiological traits.
The new program does not, however, constitute "endorsement" or "certification" of any product(s). If you plan to visit public lands in bear country, check with the regulatory authority for those lands to determine what, if any, food and garbage storage regulations apply there.