Monday November 30: deadline for comment on spring bear hunt
Unfair chase: The spring bear hunt is bad policy founded on bad science
The Ontario government is proposing a five-year extension of the spring bear hunt across 88 of the province’s Wildlife Management Units, including some in Simcoe County.
From Ontario Nature
The Ontario government is proposing to extend the two-year spring bear hunt pilot for another five years and to expand it into all areas where fall bear hunting is currently allowed (EBR Registry Number: 012-5485). The excuse? Public safety. The reality? Study after study shows that shooting more bears does not reduce human-bear conflicts.
The government’s fall-back rationale is tourism dollars. Accordingly, the plan is to open up the hunt to trophy hunters from outside the country.
Ontario’s spring bear hunt was originally cancelled in 1999. Many felt that the spring hunt was not sporting or fair chase as hungry bears came out of hibernation and were attracted to bait stations where they were shot by hunters waiting on platforms – like fish in a barrel. For the next 15 years, black bear hunting was limited to the fall. But in 2014 the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) decided to reinstate a limited spring hunt as a pilot.
The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario’s 2014 – 2015 report provides troubling information about the so-called pilot. In reinstating the hunt, the ministry ignored the advice of its own expert Nuisance Bear Review Committee. It failed to put recommended conditions on the hunt such as: prohibiting the killing of all females; providing proof of the age and sex of the bears killed; and timing the hunt to reduce the vulnerability of females.
One thing the ministry did require was that hunters who had purchased a bear hunter licence tag report on their spring hunting activities. But less than 50 percent of the hunters complied with the requirement, begging the question of what the government could actually have learned from the pilot. As noted by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, “incomplete information on the number, age, sex and location of the bears harvested each year prevents the MNRF from effectively evaluating the hunt’s ecological impact and making informed management decisions.”
Indeed, collecting data on two critical factors that are known to lead to an increase in human-bear conflicts – natural food shortages and the availability of garbage – were not part of the ministry’s proposed approach.
Please join Ontario Nature in opposing the unjustifiable extension and expansion of the spring bear hunt. The government should be listening to experts and scientists who have found no evidence that the spring hunt reduces nuisance activity by black bears. Instead, the government should invest in educational programs and solutions to human-bear conflicts that are supported by evidence and science.
Please send in comments by the November 30 deadline. Be sure to reference Environmental Registry #012-5485.
IMPORTANT: You can use and adapt the comments below. If you add your personal touch, the government will give your submission greater consideration.
Sample comments:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Re. Environmental Registry #012-5485
I strongly oppose Ontario’s proposal to expand and extend the spring bear hunt. Science has consistently shown that hunting does not reduce the number of human-bear conflicts. The government should base its policies on sound science and evidence. In this case, both indicate that one of the best ways to prevent human-bear conflicts is through public education and outreach about proper handling of food and waste.
Other Links
ECO report Small things matter
News release from Animal Alliance of Canada and Zoocheck Canada
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