Please take the time to…

Please take the time to truly reflect on the animals lives that will suffer if these new black bear hunting regulations go through. I personally work very close with animals and see the effect on newborn/young wildlife that have lost their mothers due to human greed. Ontario doesn't have a lot of wildlife rehabilitation or rescues programs to help with these orphaned babies which very often leads to the rescues euthanizing the animal or turning them away resulting in them starving to death due to the lack of their mother's milk, protection and safety or die due to predators.

During the spring bear hunt, hunters bait hungry black bears as they emerge from a winter without food, shooting them at bait sites. Females who have recently given birth are particularly attracted to bait, given that they emerge from their dens in worse body condition than other bears, having lost up to 40% of their body weight and have babies waiting for them to bring home food. This hunt is incredibly inhumane as all these animals are trying to do is raise and take care of their families. We are tricking them and killing them because simply people enjoying killing other beings.

Encouraging non-resident trophy hunters to bait and kill bears for sport as they emerge from hibernation is unethical. Indeed, Ontario technically prohibits the killing of cubs or females, but only when they are accompanied by cubs—but this is impossible to enforce.

There is no evidence that the spring bear hunt improves human safety. Advocates for the hunt often argue it will reduce human-bear conflict, but time and again studies have shown that the spring bear hunt does not improve human safety. Rather, easy access to garbage, barbecues, and other easily removable attractants, as well as scarcity in natural food availability, are key factors in human-bear interactions.

There is no cultural or economic justification for allowing hunters to lure hungry black bears using bait and shoot these unsuspecting animals for sport.

The government’s strongest argument in favour of permanently reinstating the spring bear hunt is that it will provide certainty to hunters and tourist outfitters. Given the disastrous consequences of the hunt for bears and cubs across the province, a desire for certainty is hardly a justification. Certainty would best be achieved by permanently cancelling this cruel and unnecessary killing game, instead of bowing to the powerful hunting lobby instead.

Please reconsider reinstating this hunt because these animals lives matter. Just not how much fun people have killing them.

Thank you