I totally disagree with this…

I totally disagree with this proposal. As someone who makes use of trails in wilderness areas I am concerned by the notion that the government would allow bear baiting closer to such trails. As we know, when bears learn that food is available in certain locations they start to frequent those areas, which I know is unfortunately the idea behind bear baiting. Not all bears that make use of these bear baiting stations will necessarily be shot during the hunting season. Thus this proposal risks creating “nuisance bears” who would continue to frequent areas closer to trails that are used recreationally even when it’s not hunting season. I do not see why hunters need to have the baiting stations only 50 metres from such trails. Surely with today’s 4 wheelers etc they can manage to travel 200 metres to hunt a bear. Shortening this distance risks creating unsafe situations for hikers/ people using these trails even when it’s not hunting season as it risks creating nuisance bears that hikers would come across.

I believe there is no reason to shorten the necessary distance from 200 metres to 50 metres other than to appease hunters who do not want to be bothered travelling the extra 150 metres despite the safety risks to other non hunters the rest of the year.