As in the past, the spring…

As in the past, the spring bear hunt historically caused the death of many sow bears with cubs therefore, one sow shot caused several bear deaths (the cubs). This was the main reason the spring bear hunt was cancelled in the first place. My husband is an outdoorsman with a trappers certificate and is in no way anti hunting, but we both believe there needs to specific limits.

Ontario already makes $50.6 million a year on hunting. An increase on hunting leads to more people and vehicles in many already stressed environments and habitats. At a time when many animal populations are threatened and in decline here and around the world, adding more humans and machinery and guns to these habitats can only lead to more damage to habitats and stress to local populations of various wildlife.

It has been really nice to see the black bear population increasing over the years and it is nice to have several large species of healthy populations of wild mammals and birds in Ontario. This alone draws large tourism.

At some point we as humans have to realize that our joy should not involve killing helpless animals in order to make money. Some things are more valuable than money. Our wildlife, our natural spaces and ecosystems are in danger. Please do not open the spring bear hunt as a way to make more revenue. The fall bear hunt kills enough bears and hunting clearly makes the province enough money. Chose life over financial gain.