https://www.desmog.ca/2017/10/24/b-c-bungled-grizzly-bear-management-auditor-general A muddled mess of plans that were never implemented, unclear accountability, lack of organized monitoring and spotty oversight has been at the root of the provincial government’s management of grizzly bear populations for more than two decades, Auditor General… Read More »BC Bungled Grizzly Bear Management: Auditor General Report by Judith Lavoie
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/after-the-spear-outrage-we-must-fight-to-protect-canadas-iconic-bears/article31447415/ August 17, 2016
Julius Strauss is a B.C.-based bear viewing guide and member of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association
The killing of a black bear by a U.S. hunter with a spear this week in Alberta has caused public outrage.
What has shocked is not so much the cruelty involved – the bear survived its initial injuries and ran off into the forest only to die later – but that the bear had been baited, and the act was legal.
The hunter, Josh Bowmar from Ohio, went on to celebrate the feat by posting a video of the killing on YouTube replete with footage from a GoPro he had attached to the spear.
Another hunter said Mr. Bowmar had “cojones” for being willing to approach the bear on foot, as it rummaged around a baited barrel that had been put out specifically for the purpose.
Bears Matter added: Poster fr BC Guide Outfitters materials in 2013!
Letter copied to Bears Matter and reproduced with permission:
Subject: Super, Natural British Columbia and trophy hunting
Date: March 25, 2016 at 11:14:55 AM PDT
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Dear Minister Bond,
I’ve lived and worked in British Columbia all my life and every day am grateful to have been born here. The recently launched Destination B.C. materials showcase our province’s people, the animals, the communities and pristine wild spaces and I think “yes, this is what my home looks like”.
But there is a glaring disconnect between what the material portrays of B.C. wildlife and the continued legal practice of trophy hunting in this province. It’s a serious schism. Killing wild animals for sport or trophy is a violent, disrespectful practice that certainly wouldn’t be included in tourism materials. This highlights a glaring misalignment of attitudes toward our wild species that needs to be remedied.
Protesters against illegal poaching and hunting gather outside B.C. Provincial Court before Anaheim Ducks defenceman Clayton Stoner was expected to enter a plea in Vancovuer Friday Nov. 13, 2015. Stoner is charged with five counts under the Wildlife Act after a grizzly bear was killed on the central coast in 2013. Photograph by: Darryl Dyck, CP
Update by Bears Forever Organization on the Outcome of the Clayton Stoner Case. He was found guilty of holding a resident Limited Entry Hunt tag for a grizzly bear when he was not a resident of the province at that time …Mr. Stoner was fined $10,000 and banned from hunting in B.C. for three years. From facebook page of Bears Forever https://www.facebook.com/bearsforeverbc
As everyone celebrates Clayton Stoner being sentenced today, here are some things to bear in mind:
1) Trophy hunting is not illegal under Settler law. Stoner has simply been found guilty of hunting with the wrong kind of license. We need to make this illegal under Settler law so the activity stops completely.
2) Stoner is also guilty of contravening the Indigenous ban on trophy hunting under Indigenous law, and the Settler courts have no jurisdiction over that.
3) No one would have caught Stoner in the first place if First Nations hadn’t been investing their money and energy in monitoring hunt activity. The Province has NO capacity to effectively regulate or monitor the hunt. That burden falls to us.
4) Justice for the Grizzly shot by Stoner, is important. But what we’re fighting for with the Bears Forever campaign is justice for ALL bears. That won’t happen until the province regulates an end to the hunt. And we won’t stop our work until they do.
You can find out more about what we’re doing at bearsforever.ca
On Friday, a judge postponed a court case regarding five charges that NHL hockey defencemen Clayton Stoner is facing related to an incident that has become highly symbolic in a public campaign to end the controversial grizzly bear trophy hunt in British Columbia.
During a 2013 hunting trip to his home province, the hockey star was spectacularly photographed holding a dead grizzly bear’s head and claws. The incident provoked scorn from indigenous and environmental groups, but government investigators also believe Stoner’s hunting permit was not valid.
The hearing is now delayed until Nov.13, but grizzly bear advocates are thrilled —they see it as yet another chance to shine a bright light on the B.C. Liberal government’s permitting of the controversial sport killing of grizzlies. “If Mr. Stoner wants to (delay this) for the next two years until the next provincial election be my guest.” said Barb Murray with Bears Matter outside a Vancouver court building on Friday.
“He’s an international hockey player. He’s famous, Canadian-born and bred, and held up as an example for kids. Wrong!”
