Canadian town cancels trick-or-treating over fear of polar bears

So much for trick-or-treating on Halloween for one Canadian town. The blooming polar bear population on the small hamlet of Arviat has caused enough concern among parents and officials that they’ve called off the door-to-door candy begs.

And some are actually blaming it on climate change, Slate reported.

“Unfortunately, polar-bear-human conflicts are very likely going to increase in many parts of the circumpolar Arctic as climate warming progresses,” one expert suggested to BBC Nature in a recent broadcast.

The logic is that as ice melts, bears look for solid ground elsewhere — and that drives them to local villages, Slate said.

So the town of Arviat is taking the first-ever step of canceling door-to-door trick-or-treating, Salon reported. The town will instead hold indoor events, including a haunted house and candy give-away, the news outlet reported.

“Picture 1,200 kids going door to door in Arviat in the middle of polar bear season,” said Steve England, the town’s senior administrative officer, Salon reported. “It’s a pretty obvious conclusion of what tragedies could come out of that.”