As a person who has hunted…

As a person who has hunted for a number of years, I am opposed to a spring bear hunt. I recognize that the Bruce area bear population faces manage challenges from humans, and does not need any stress put on it. Also, animals are unpredictable, and in the spring mothers are often separated from cubs for times, and the risk of killing a mother bear accidentally is too great to allow a hunt. A spring bear hunt would result in orphan cubs starving and dying, as well as potential for orphan to seek out food and interact with people, creating another risk. There is not genuine need for a spring hunt, only a desire, and the risks to human-animal interactions and the bear population health, and thus ecosystem health is too great. There are other ways to increase tourism spending and economic activity, without a spring bear hunt. Perhaps developing more wildlife viewing tours, making some changes to other hunts, etc. Killing more key species at a sensitive and important time of year is not the way to increase tourism or economic development when other options are available.