This proposal is disturbing…

This proposal is disturbing. The spring bear hunt is no more a hunt than shooting goldfish in a pond.

What I find disturbing is that no other animal is hunted in the fashion bears are (they get baited for weeks, even months, then shot from a tree blind when they come to eat). More importantly, hunters cannot differentiate between male and female bears unless cubs are present. Thus, cubs are orphaned when females feeding without their cubs are shot.

Male black bears are one of the greatest sources of mortality of cubs. As females only breed every two years, this is a form of population control. OFAH incorrectly states that the spring bear hunt is needed to keep populations healthy. But by killing black bears, a major source of mortality of cubs, this hunt could well do the opposite.

As part of the argument is a financial one (benefits to northern communities), far more money would come in if those outfitters would offer spring bear photography opportunities. Studies have shown that ecotourism brings in far more financial benefits to communities than hunting does (a different type of clientele, with a more affluential background)

Additionally, no other "game" animal has two hunts per year (i.e., moose, white-tailed deer). Thus, the spring bear hunt goes against the very foundation of conservation.

I strongly urge the government to NOT reinstate the spring bear hunt.