January 23, 2020 I was very…

January 23, 2020

I was very concerned, once again, when I read about the announcement concerning reinstating the Spring bear hunt. In 1999 the spring bear hunt was finally cancelled. The hunt was cancelled to protect bear cubs from being orphaned when their mothers were accidentally and /or illegally killed. 

In 2013, the spring bear hunt was reintroduced as an experiment ostensibly to reduce human-bear conflict.  However, the government’s own science showed that human-bear conflict had nothing to do with the spring hunt. In reality, the number of nuisance bear interactions increased when wild food crops, like berries and nuts, were not readily available due to drought or other poor environmental conditions.

The decision to implement a spring bear hunt by our Minister of Natural Resources must be impartial and based on sound, evidence based, scientific data which would be applied to every other species were it not considered as “profitable”. Appeasing hunters and other special interest groups should not be the primary goal of wildlife management policy.
  
Arguments against the reinstatement of the spring bear hunt:

Hunting bears in the spring does not reduce human-bear conflict.  The government should heed the results of their own science and appointed committees. Complaints do not reflect the number of nuisance bears in the population. The number of bears that were in conflict with humans and which were consequently trapped did not increase following the cancellation of the spring bear hunt in 1999.  The number of complaints about nuisance bears that occurred after the spring bear hunt was cancelled, was due to local controversy and an increased reporting effort.
It is difficult for hunters, even seasoned bear hunters, to tell the difference between male and female bears from a distance, and females leave their cubs in nearby trees while they forage. Inevitably, female bears are killed in the spring bear hunt.
Orphaning cubs threatens the black bear population, which has one of the lowest reproductive rates of all species. Female black bears do not generally start reproducing until they are 6 years old. 70% of orphaned cubs die before they reach one year of age. Black bear cubs stay with the females for protection and to learn how to forage for approximately two years. Killing the female also eliminates that generation of dependant cubs which cannot survive, or over winter on their own.

 
Arguments against bear baiting:

Baiting bears can increase the number of nuisance bears. Human attractants are a known cause of nuisance bear activity in populated areas. Bear baiting is begun well in advance of the legal hunt. Female bears teach their young how to forage, females that are not accidentally killed after using bait sites teach their young to take advantage of bait and other human food.
Females with cubs are more susceptible to being attracted by bait because they emerge from the den in Spring in poor body condition relative to other bears.
It can be difficult to identify and therefore avoid killing females around bait piles because mother bears stow their vulnerable cubs in trees while they forage.
Baiting bears goes against the notion of “fair chase” – there is nothing ethical or culturally significant about luring bears and shooting them from blinds as they consume unnatural food. 
 
General Recommendations (Preferred):
Immediate closure of the spring bear hunt and immediate ban on all bear baiting.
Proper consideration of evidence based science when making management decisions, instead of politically based motives that only provide the economic evidence in support of the decision.
To reduce human/bear conflicts by supporting programs which teach people to manage their waste
 
Alternative To Preferred Recommendations:

If the hunt is to continue, thereby ignoring current science and research which does not support reestablishing the spring bear hunt, in order to appease a political base as demonstrated by the explosion of “business opportunities” for multiple hunting organizations in Ontario, here are my recommendations. :

The Spring Bear hunt should last no more than 30 days, from June 1 to June 30.
Baiting must stop after June 30 and not to resume again until Sept 1st, two weeks prior to the Fall Hunt.
Baiting should be a minimum of 2km from the nearest residence or residential area and garbage must be cleared after the hunt.
Fall Hunt should begin Sept 15 and end October 30 throughout the Province.
Hunting with dogs must be strictly Prohibited.
Female bears with cubs must be actively protected during the Spring AND Fall Hunt.
The Ontario government must hire additional Conservation Officers for enforcement of the above recommendations.
The decision to allow a Spring Hunt must be reviewed annually, considering evidence based science confirming the population is healthy and not driven purely by economic interests. Consultations must include First Nations, scientists and conservationists and not simply relying on the “science” provided by vested interests.

Having the Minister of Natural Resources, as stated by his own words, be more concerned about tourism, those hunting industries that support small business in northern and rural Ontario, forming committees such as the BGMAC to “improve big game management in Ontario”, read support for the above groups, and not look to maintaining the health and longevity of all species supporting the ecosystem in Ontario, including the “profitable” ones, is not what was intended for this Ministry. Economic development and business opportunities for Ontarians belong to other government ministries.

"We are listening to the concerns of northern Ontarians and the tourism industry that an ongoing pilot spring season creates economic uncertainty," said Minister Yakabuski. "A regular, monitored spring bear hunting season would enable tourism outfitters and camp owners to better plan their operations for the entire year, while also allowing hunters to better plan their activities and support local businesses."

How about this Minister, charged with protecting all of our natural resources, try taking the long view, and base the decision, on when to allow a bear hunt, on sound proven evidence based scientific principles and then perhaps all those interested parties will still have a hunt to “profit” by in their futures.