Injured bears eventually get desperate for food. Especially now when they are trying to fatten up for the winter. Public safety is number 1 and the conservation officer made the proper risk assessment and decision to kill the bear. Had the bear not been killed and the bear then attacked and maybe kill a person, there will be a lot of questions brought to why it wasnt killed and then the officer would have to live with that decision that would effect his life and career.
Knowing several conservation officers and having worked along side them at times, I can assure you that shooting an animal is the worst part of their job and when they get this type of call, which is frequent where I live, their eyes dont light up.
Its sad to see the animals lose out, as its not their fault, but this is reality. With education on the subject, proper steps taken such as minimizing garbage and other bear attractants we can minimize the amount of bear-human conflicts that will more than likely end in a dead bear.
glx