While I support the rights…

While I support the rights of Ontarians to hunt black bears, the reduction of minimum bait placement from rights of way and trails is a potential safety hazard. Black bears are capable of moving at a speed of 13 metres per second, meaning a tourist or recreational trail user has less than 3 seconds if they come upon a bear near a baiting station, before the bear could attack.

Additionally, firearms used in close proximity to trails are more likely to be the cause of accidental shootings of non-hunting recreational trail users.

Finally, shooting from vehicles is banned in Ontario and has been known to already be a problem with the hunting of ungulates. Providing baiting stations within 30 metres of rights of way could increase the occurrence of shooting from vehicles.

The pros of this regulation do not outweigh the cons and the safety of trail users should be paramount to the appeasement of hunting tour operators.