BP risks another PR disaster as polar bear is killed in Alaskan oilfield
The female bear was killed on 3 August by a guard working for BP’s security contractor Purcell and died of its wounds about 11 days later, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said.
Oil firms in Alaska hold special permits that allow them to scare off curious polar bears using ‘nonlethal harassment’, known as ‘hazing.
Hazing measures include the use of a special gun loaded with a ‘beanbag’, used to scare away the hungry beasts by dealing them a non-fatal blow.
The security guard believed that his gun contained the beanbag devices, but the weapon had instead been loaded with noise-making pyrotechnic ‘cracker’ shells, designed to startle animals without physical contact.
The shooting occurred after the guard saw the bear prowling around near an employee housing area.