I was born and raised in…

I was born and raised in Northern Ontario (Sudbury/North Bay) area and I still live here. I wish to comment on the proposed permanent status of the Spring Bear Hunt, as I am totally opposed to such a proposal. The regulations do not adequately protect young cubs from being orphaned and left to die a slow death from starvation out in the wild. We, as a province, need to protect these animals and respect their right to live and breed in the wild, without harassment and fear of death from hunters who either don't know how to distinguish male from female, or don't care, or don't realize that female mothers hunt and forage without their cubs nearby.

I am in agreement with Camille Labchuk, executive director of advocacy organization Animal Justice, that the government's measures don’t offer meaningful protection. As she has said, hunters struggle to distinguish between male and female bears even at close range, adding that challenge all but ensures the issue that prompted the Spring bear hunt cancellation in the first place is bound to surface again. “This is a death warrant for innocent baby bear cubs who will be orphaned and die when their mothers are gunned down by hunters after emerging from hibernation in the spring,” she said. “It’s deeply disappointing that the current government has so little regard for the majestic creatures with whom we share this province.”

I am also in agreement with Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner who called the government’s wildlife conservation record “spotty” and urging a broad-based approach to the public consultation process.
“Any decision to reinstate a permanent spring hunt must be based on science,” he said in a statement. “Hunting of any species cannot be driven purely by economic interests and should only be considered if the population is healthy. Consultations must include First Nations, scientists and conservationists.”

Hunters are able to hunt the black bear in the Fall; this is enough hunting of this animal. Let's allow our black bears to be able to raise their cubs in peace for the first two years of their life and leave our bear free to roam in the Spring to forage for food after a long winter, free from fear of being hunted down and free to raise their cubs humanely. Just ask the only bear rehab and orphan facility in Ontario, "Bear With Us Sanctuary and Rehab center, just outside of Huntsville, run by Mike McIntosh, without any government funding, how many orphan cubs he has had to pickup each Spring to attempt to nurse back to health, if possible, and how many female bears shot haphazardly that are left to suffer or die needlessly. Literally thousands of bear cubs over the years have been left to the same fate.... a slow death.... and mother bears have been shot indiscriminately by hunters.

Let's not honour the mighty dollar and allow that to be the prime reason to allow this ridiculous Spring bear hunt goes forward permanently. Businesses have others ways to make money than this needless exploitations of our helpless bear population. This proposal makes me sick and I am disgusted that the government has not seen clear to make decisions that are humaneand based on wildlife science regarding our animals that we have left in this province.

I don't wish to support any proposal that allows any type (permant or non-permanent) Spring bear hunt and I hope you will reconsider this proposal by speaking to those who are on the front lines of the torture that occurs to these animals like "Bear With Us" (Mike Mcintosh) and Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, as well as longtime Bear experts in the field such as Dr. Lynn Rogers (bear.org) and Dr. Ben Kilham (kilhambearcenter.org) before this proposal goes into law.