This is terrible - having…

This is terrible - having read the OFAH's position on the Spring Bear Hunt, listing "adventure" and "an experience akin to spiritual awakening" - I cannot say there is any compelling evidence that this hunt should be reinstated. I am 33 years old now, and remember actively campaigning against this hunt in eighth grade. Its ban felt like a step towards a more humane culture. This new proposal feels like the opposite.

The simple fact is that bears are part of our environment as Canadians, and hunters who shoot them for sport are not in fact contributing to real efforts towards sustainability and environmentalism. You cannot say in one breath, that shooting bears is for sport and adventure, and in another, make claims that the hunt is a necessary culling event.

I support regenerative farming and even hunting of animals for food - but let's call a spade a spade here. This is armed individuals, shooting beautiful, powerful animals for the thrill of it. We are all horrified by images on social media of hunters in South Africa shooting and killing lions, cheetahs, etc, just for sport, and the Spring Bear Hunt is no different.

Surely we can recognize this for what it is and work towards other, less cruel practices to generate profit for Ontario. It is worth noting that the "benefits of the spring bear hunt" document produced by the OFAH focuses almost entirely on benefits for the hunters, with no regard for the fact that mother bears are frequently shot , leaving their cubs orphaned and vulnerable to the cannibal bears that the document references to (whom the OFAH also wants to hunt). Also of note is TR-28 document surveying expenditures relative to the SBH pilot takes no account of the humane treatment of the bears involved, the environmental impact of the hunt, or the impact of the hunt on the public perception of the Ontario government for reinstating the hunt.

I will be watching this case very carefully and sharing it across all my social media platforms, and voting carefully with this proposal in mind.