February 18, 2020 Re:…

February 18, 2020

Re: Environmental Registry #019-1112:
Proposed Changes to Black Bear Hunting Regulations

We are writing to register our strong opposition to the Spring Bear Hunt.

It is unethical to hunt any species in the spring, not only are the bears depleted from their hibernation period and desperate to find food, but they also have young to care for. Hunting of any other large game species is not permitted in the spring when there are dependent young.

Utilizing baiting stations should also be prohibited, it is akin to shooting fish in a barrel. In the spring the animals are ravenous from months without food and in the fall they are focused on finding enough food to reach a body weight that will sustain them through hibernation.

As for it being illegal to shoot a female bear with cubs, cubs are seldom with the mother at the food site and it is well established that it is very difficult for hunters to determine the nursing status of a bear from a tree blind. This means that cubs will be orphaned in the spring. Unable to care for themselves, they will suffer and die.

With respect to the assertion that the Spring Bear Hunt helps reduce human/bear conflicts, this was shown not to be the case by Martyn Obbard, the Ministry’s own bear biologist, now retired. Evidence shows that it does not minimize human conflicts with bears.

Education and prevention are the only sensible and cost-effective tools that exist when it comes to dealing with human-wildlife interactions. For this reason, Ontario’s Bear Wise Program must be reinstated. An evaluation of the program that was conducted with the participation of northern municipalities, organizations and citizens found that “There is overwhelming support for the program in general, particularly in the areas of response and community funding.”

The former Minister of Natural Resources, John Snobelen, who cancelled the spring bear hunt in 1999, has publicly denounced its reintroduction. In an Op-ed in the Toronto Sun he states “In Ontario we don’t hunt large game in the spring. We believe in fair chase and hunting for consumption. The best of our hunting traditions don’t include blasting away from a tree stand at hungry bears lured to bait”.
In closing we would like to recommend Recommendations:

The withdrawal of the Environmental Registry #019-1112; the reinstatement of the ban on the spring bear hunt; end the spring hunt and trapping in the Saugeen-Bruce Peninsula; the tightening of the fall bear hunt to include no hunting of mothers with cubs (family groups); and the reintroduction of the Bear Wise Program.