We are deeply concerned by…

We are deeply concerned by the intention to proceed with expanding the spring bear hunt without any evaluation of the two pilot projects initiated since 2014. The purpose of a pilot project is to test and evaluate an idea, and provide insight and data before proceeding at a larger scale. It is alarming that the government would propose extending the spring bear hunt without having conducted, and made publicly available to Ontarians, a thorough review and evaluation of the 2- year pilot project from 2014-2016, and at least some analysis of the initial results from the 2016-2020 pilot project.

The Ministry assured Ontarians in 2016 that the extension of initial pilot project would provide additional data with which to assess the impacts of the spring black bear hunting season and help inform long-term black bear management activities. This has not been done. Consequently, there is no biological or socio-economic basis for the decision to expand the spring hunt, raising questions about the sustainability and socio-economic impact of such a decision.

There is, however, a great deal of evidence linking a spring bear hunt with an increase in orphaned bear cubs, and Ontario cancelled the annual spring hunt for black bears in 1999 in response to concerns from Ministry biologists over orphaned cubs starving to death. The Conservative government at that time acted appropriately and decided " ….to move to end the spring bear hunt because [our government] will not tolerate cubs being orphaned by hunters mistakenly shooting mother bears in the spring" (John Snobelen, Minister of Natural Resources, 19 January 1999).

The two pilot projects to date have produced no monitoring of the impacts of the hunt on the bear population or the survival of cubs, and there is no evidence to suggest that anything has changed since 1999. A spring hunt will kill nursing females and their cubs will be left to die of exposure, starvation and predation.

The sustainability of the black bear population is dependent on the survival of female bears and their cubs. Indeed, the hunting of most species is prohibited while their young are still dependent. This principle is understood by many Ontario hunters who refuse to hunt black bears in the spring because they respect the relationship between mother and cub and leave them alone to raise their families. A spring bear hunt is unethical because it is widely considered unacceptable to bait bears as they emerge from hibernation, and it always results in young cubs being abandoned and left to starve in the woods.

Bear rescue groups are reporting an increase in the number of cubs being rescued, and a study by Ministry staff in 2008 reported that the practice of suspending bear bait, which theoretically should help hunters better identify a lactating female, failed due to the inability (or impatience) of hunters to positively identify the sex of a bear before shooting.

The proposed expansion of the spring bear hunt is unethical and unsupported by science. Without a robust evaluation of the two pilot projects, there is nothing to suggest it the proposed hunt will be biologically sustainable or economically viable.

We do appreciate that – unlike your Liberal predecessors – the current government is not misleading Ontarians by suggesting a spring hunt will reduce human-bear conflicts.

However, without an evaluation of the pilot projects there remain serious concerns about the unethical orphaning of dependent bear cubs, and the government of Ontario’s commitment to science-based wildlife management.