I am appalled to learn that…

I am appalled to learn that the Ontario government is considering allowing black bears to be hunted and killed. Hunting wild animals is a primitive and barbaric practice. Mother bears who leave their cubs in trees when searching for food could be killed, and their cubs will then likely die slowly of starvation or be eaten by predators. Bears have low reproduction rates, meaning the survival of adult females is vital for the species.

The government has claimed that it needs to reduce black bear hunting in Saugeen-Bruce Peninsula due to population concerns, yet it is simultaneously proposing to allow the hunting and trapping of these bears in that region for one week each spring. This makes no sense!

I fear that this whole proposal of bringing back the bear hunt is a wretched attempt to pander to the powerful hunting lobby. If Canada is to be a compassionate, progressive nation, it must enact protections for bears and all wildlife--this regressive legislation would do the opposite. The trophy hunting of bears is backward, it is cruel, it is unnecessary, and it is unacceptable.