I live in central Ontario in…

I live in central Ontario in a rural location and occasionally have had bears on my property and in the neighbourhood. During my forty years at this location, I have only had two inconviences caused by bears, #1. A bear stole a bag of chicken food from my hen house #2. A bear flipped a bee hive over. Neither of these events were of any great concern to me. I have much greater concern about being shot by a bear hunter while I or my family and friends are walking or working in my 150 acre forest. The spring bear hunt doubles the chance of me being harmed by a bear hunter. As a hunter, I am disgusted with the unethical aspect of the spring bear hunt. This hunt endangers sows and cubs. The use of bait is not only unethical, it also endangers the public who happen to hike by these baited sites. It also contradicts the Bear Wise slogan - a fed bear is a dead bear. I have had offal dumped by bear hunters beside the road bordering my property. The drastic reduction in MNR enforcement staff over the last 20 years leaves this proposed hunt virtually unsupervised. In my callow and ignorant youth, I actually participated in the spring bear hunt so I know exactly how this hunt is conducted. The spring bear hunt is unethical and dangerous for the public. I do not support this proposal.