I urge the province to…

I urge the province to cancel the proposed Spring Bear Hunt completely.

Bear cubs will continue to be orphaned if the hunt becomes permanent. While it is currently against the law to kill cubs and mother bears accompanied by cubs, mother bears often tree their cubs while they search for food. The mothers will be attracted to the bait stations below the tree platforms and be considered "not accompanied by cubs" and therefore killed by hunters, most of whom cannot distinguish a male bear from a female bear. "I did not know it wasn't a male" is not a valid excuse for killing a nursing female. If a mother is killed, the cubs will likely die slowly of starvation or be eaten by predators.

Hunting bears does not improve human safety. Human-bear conflict is alleviated by changes in human behaviour. Humans must take responsibility for removing access to garbage, barbeques and other forms of outdoor cooking areas, as well as any other attractants.

Bears have low reproduction rates and survival of adult females and the cubs is vital for the species.

The argument for allowing the spring bear hunt is weak. The government states that the economic impact would be neutral or positive but has provided little evidence to support the claim. In addition, the question must be asked: "Is profit a valid reason for killing members of a species?" In a compassionate, modern society, the answer is "No."

In general, public opinion is turning against sport hunting, hunting by non-resident hunters and trophy hunting. The image of non-resident sport hunters paying large fees to kill, on mutually owned public lands, animals who have little hope of escape has become unacceptable to an informed electorate.

The government should be directing its attention to attracting eco-tourism rather than seeking to retain votes by catering to the wants of a small sector of the population who take pleasure in killing wildlife. In the current climate change crisis, concerned voters are shifting to climate and environmental issues and species protection.