Wildlife Not Wild-Death I am…

Wildlife Not Wild-Death

I am a spring, summer and fall resident of an inlet on Georgian Bay, one-half hour north of Parry Sound. Over the last 50 years I have often encountered bears in the wild. I am a former Vice-Chair of an Ontario environmental tribunal, and having chaired numerous hearings in which expert scientific evidence was determinative of the environmental issue to be decided, it is obvious to me that the science to support a spring bear hunt is conspicuous by its absence.

1. The "nuisance" claim

In my experience, it is human carelessness that is a nuisance and there is no such thing as a "nuisance bear" in the natural order of things. As this is one of the justifications for the spring hunt, it is simply ill-informed and wrong. Importantly, any decisions regarding a spring hunt should be science based. I am not aware of any scientific basis for the allegation that a spring bear hunt will somehow resolve the so-called nuisance bear issue or that it is even a problem for people residing in areas that bears consider habitat. In fact, the baiting of bears creates a situation where bears are led down the garden path by humans to being characterized as a nuisance. This is inexcusably contradictory.

2. The economic benefit claim

I support our northern economy. However, the alleged economic justification for the hunt (certainty of income for resort owners and spin-off businesses from hunting and accommodation) is anecdotal and based on maintaining a perceived status quo that does not exist - there is far more public interest in conserving wildlife, and appreciating it by observation and study, than killing wildlife for sport. It is clear that the majority of Canadians are for preserving, and not killing, our native wildlife, including bears and wolves. Canadians would rather celebrate our wild creatures and not senselessly and needlessly harm, kill and harass them. There is no study that shows that killing bears is more economically productive than observing them in the wild.

3. Mother bears and their cubs

Lastly, the "safety net" suggestion - that hunters will be able to determine the sex of a target bear and avoid killing female bears - is simply ludicrous. As others have pointed out, a mother bear does not keep her cubs on a notional leash. It is precisely because a mother bear is separated from her cubs that she becomes distressed with a human presence and shifts into protection mode - a natural reaction that supporters of a spring bear hunt would call "nuisance" behaviour. This "safety net" is full of holes.

In sum, please do not re-instate a spring bear hunt that is an overreaction to a preventable and overstated "nuisance" bear threat, is based on outdated economics, is inhumane, cannot be enforced, and is not science based. Instead, why not try a modern approach by educating people to not create nuisance bear situations and by promoting eco-tourism opportunities that celebrate wildlife, not wild-death.