The Ontario Spring Bear Hunt…

The Ontario Spring Bear Hunt should be abolished. According to world renowned wildlife scientists, since 1970, 2/3 of the world's wildlife has disappeared. We are not immune to this in Ontario or the rest of Canada. According to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources own website, the survival rate of bear cubs is much higher in southern Ontario. 25% die in the 1st and 2nd years, opposed to northern Ontario where 55% of cubs die in the 1st year, 75% in the 2nd year. Bears have the lowest reproduction rate of any land mammal. Many adult bears die as a result of fights, road kill, starvation, non hunting interactions with humans and sometimes sickness. The population of bears in Ontario, 75,000-100,000, has not increased since 1999. Bear diet consists mostly of nuts, berries, vegetation, insects and grubs, but if they can't find enough to satisfy their hunger, they will eat deer fawns, moose calves, spawning suckers, or any carcasses they may find. This is part of the natural food chain process. So much for the misguided premise of saving the environment or conservation. We can co-exist with bears. Many towns and people have learned to do so. The best way to reduce human/bear conflicts is to ensure people manage their waste. Bears have never been a threat to human life in Ontario. Since 1881 (139 years) only 10 people have died as a result of bear attacks. The Ontario Government absolutely needs to hire more conservation officers to enforcement hunting laws. In 2013 when the Ontario pilot spring bear hunt was proposed by the former Liberal govt., I viewed the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website, under Enforcement. I found all the charges laid by the OMNR and convictions from 2007-2012. There were 47 individuals convicted. Many violations go undetected unless the OMNR does a blitz, because there are not enough enforcement officers. In November of 2007 they had 2 blitzes. On one blitz, in Kenora, the OMNR laid 115 charges. In the other, in Bancroft, they laid another 67 charges. These hunters were most likely convicted in 2008. Here are the reasons why 47 hunters were actually convicted. 1. Hunting while intoxicated. 2.Having open liquor in vehicles. 3. Having loaded firearms in vehicles. 4. Shooting down roads. 5. Shooting after dark. 6. Hunting in Provincial Parks. 7. Trespassing and hunting on private property. 8. Shooting from boats, ATV's and vehicles. 9. Not having a hunting licence. 10. Having an unlicensed firearm. 11. Using another hunter's seal. 12. Careless hunting (one hunter was charged with shooting another). 14. Possessing or transporting illegally killed moose or dear (out of season). 14. Illegally hunting bear. 15. Killing of a sow and her cubs. 16. Abandoning killed animals. If the hunt is to continue other changes must also be made. It should last 30 days, June 1 to June 30. Baiting must stop after June 30 and should not resume until September 1st, 2 weeks prior to the fall hunt. Baiting should be a minimum of 2 km from the nearest residential area and garbage must be cleared after the hunt. The fall hunt should begin September 15 and end October 30. Hunting with dogs should be banned. Females with cubs must be “truly” protected during the spring hunt and the fall hunt.