I am extremely opposed to…

I am extremely opposed to the spring bear hunt, and especially against making it permanent. Please say 'no' to the spring bear hunt for the following reasons:

As an MNRF-certified wildlife rehabber, I am aware of the fact that black bears are NOT part of the reason the moose population in Ontario is declining, contrary to what the hunting/trapping industry would have people think. Bears are mainly vegetarian, although they will occasionally eat meat, they do not hunt moose. Wolves do, but even wolves are not excessive moose predators - the real reason moose in Ontario are declining is from humans over-hunting them and habitat loss.

Yet hunting organizations are not prepared to realistically address the problem by curtailing the moose hunt, they instead misinform the public into thinking it's because of bears and wolves. They disseminate misinformation aimed at fear-mongering and then suggest 'harvesting' bears and wolves is the fix. Mother nature does a very good job of balancing species populations; we experience problems when humans interfere too much. And now we're about to interfere even further by decimating the bear population?!

May 1st is too early to hunt bears. Mothers give birth to their cubs in early January. They come out of hibernation to forage for food, leaving their young cubs in trees, often as far as a km or two away, because they're too young to follow. Current legislation requires the cubs to be present with the mother, if they're not, hunters can kill her. Most hunters can't or won't discern if it's a lactating female and many will just shoot anyway in the 'thrill (or fear) of the moment', resulting in orphaned cubs that will die slowly of starvation or predation when their mother doesn't return. Thus this hunt does not even take into account the realistic actual habits of a mother bear and her cubs' daily existence.

Some hunters use dogs. Dogs cannot differentiate male/female/nursing female, they will chase any bear. Again, hunters will not recognize a nursing mother and the cubs will not likely be present. More orphans.

To make matters worse, current legislation has NO regulations specifying where hunters can bait - bear baiting can be set up close to homes and near towns. THIS is what attracts bears, bringing them closer to human habitation that would not occur if baiting regs did not allow for such close proximity. This results in human/bear conflict yet the hunting organizations resist change to these regulations because it serves their purpose by causing the very situation they then can use as a scare tactic to support the need for a spring and fall bear hunt.

Scientific study shows the spring bear hunt does NOT reduce bear/human conflict, it actually exacerbates it! The spring bear hunt WILL NOT increase public safety. Changing the baiting regulations to deny baiting near human habitation will, and ceasing the spring bear hunt will too.

Another element related to this is that the government and hunting organizations want to clear more land to create more roads into the wild spaces (more habitat loss). Hunting organizations want this access for their industry and the bear hunt is an excuse to make this so. As an Ontarian who loves our wilderness and the species we share them with, I do not want habitat and species destroyed just because one group, hunters/trappers, want it. We share the land and one group should not get to have such a substantial impact on precious wildlife and habitat, eroding the already limited protections a great many Ontarians desperately want to remain in place (that should actually be increased before its too late, not removed).

The past 16 years' bear hunt needs to be curtailed and regulations need to be improved because the state of the world and our little piece of it here in Ontario is rapidly being destroyed due to climate change, pollution, human over-population, habitat destruction, and yes, over-hunting. We need to protect what is left. A spring (and fall) bear hunt is not conducive to this.

No to the spring bear hunt. Instead, re-implement the Bear Wise Program in its former full-scale version, let's educate and protect instead of fear and destroy.