I am writing to let you know…

I am writing to let you know that I am opposed to any decision to reinstate the spring bear hunt in Ontario.

Twenty ago, the Conservative government of Ontario made the right decision to stop the orphaning of bear cubs by ending the spring bear hunt. I ask that you honour that decision, and protect mother bears and their cubs in the spring by shooting them only with a camera.

Shockingly, there has been no evaluation of the 2014-2016 spring bear hunt pilot project, nor the 2016-2020 pilot extension. It is irresponsible to proceed with re-instating the spring bear hunt without a transparent and scientifically robust evaluation of these pilot projects being made available to the Ontario public.

Ontarians deserve evidence-based policy and transparent decision making. Any proposal to re-instate the spring hunt must include an evaluation of the taxpayer-funded pilot projects conducted over the past 5 years, and the public assurance that bear cubs will not be orphaned.