There is an important…

There is an important distinction to be made between hunters and shooters.

I do not consider shooting an animal that has been lured to within reach of an easy hit to be hunting. It is unsportsmanlike and unethical. If a person is to hunt a bear for sport, he or she should track it.

If it is to qualify as a sport, hunting should increase skill, endurance and knowledge. This measure will facilitate the lazy and unskilled hunter, who will be able to shoot black bears from the road while sitting in a vehicle. People who lack the skill to butcher an animal so it can be carried out of the forest will be able to drag the bear to their trucks. We don’t need to increase opportunity for such hunters.

The rationale proposed by the ministry is weak:
-That the present distance of 200 metres from a roadway or trail is overly restrictive and unclear. By what standard is it "overly restrictive?" Qhere are the data to support this statement? The distance is quite clearly stated and not at all unclear.
-That the change will enable tourist outfitters who provide bear hunting services to better plan and manage their operations for clients. No evidence is cited for this claim. It may mean that to outfitters won't have to travel as far - but does that mean better planning and management from the perspective of good conservation of natural resources and impact on other species in the forest? There does not appear to have been any examination of the cumulative implications of this change.

The present required distance from a roadway or trail for baiting bear is 200 metres. There is no public interest served by reducing the distance to 30 metres - on the contrary, it increases the risk to hikers, campers, nature observers and others who will be on the roads and trails. As well, possibly, to hunters who may be operating in closer proximity to each other and are likely to be less experienced, since the effect of the change will be to draw in those with less experience and skill.

I oppose this ill-considered proposal.