In 2001, about 50 bears were killed. By 2007, the annual kill was more than 350. The government claims killing up to six per cent of grizzlies a year is sustainable based on its estimate of 15,000 bears, writes Stephen… Read More »Stephen Hume: Grizzly hunt fails test of science, experts say
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Stephen+Hume+Brutish+Columbia+trophy+bear+hunt+puts+display/9624211/story.html In another couple of weeks, from the Kootenays to the coast and the Spatsizi to the Okanagan, the spring bear hunt gets underway. This opening occurs just as mother bears emerge from winter dens with their recently-born cubs.… Read More »Stephen Hume: ‘Brutish’ Columbia’s trophy bear hunt puts us on display, Vancouver Sun
http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/letters/grizzly+bear+hunt/9579008/story.html In a few weeks the annual government-sponsored trophy hunt of grizzly bears commences just as bears emerge from their dens with young in tow. The bears are hungry after their hibernation and easy targets for hunters. Inevitably, female bears… Read More »Letter to Editor March 5, 2014, End the grizzly bear hunt (in BC)
Focus Magazine, March 2014 http://focusonline.ca/?q=node/691
Studies call into question BC Liberals’ plans to expand bear hunting.
The magic of watching black bears overturning rocks and scooping up crabs on a Tofino beach, the once-in-a-lifetime excitement of seeing a Spirit Bear near Klemtu or witnessing the awe-inspiring power of grizzlies feeding on salmon in the Great Bear Rainforest are vignettes of BC that both tourists and residents carry close to their hearts.
So it is not surprising that a study by the Center for Responsible Travel at Stanford University in Washington concludes that live bears are worth more in cold, hard cash than dead bears. Not surprising, that is, to anyone except BC’s provincial government.
Instead of boosting the profitable business of bear viewing, the government is looking at extending the length of the spring black bear hunt and is re-opening the grizzly hunt in three areas of the Kootenays and one in the Cariboo—all formerly closed because of over-hunting.
Another indication of where provincial sympathies lie came during the first week of the spring sitting of the Legislature, when government introduced changes to the Wildlife Act—changes that will allow corporations, not just individuals, to hold guide outfitting areas, making it easier for a group of people to jointly purchase territories and reducing liability for individual owners. Assistant guides will no longer have to be licensed, allowing guide outfitters more flexibility during peak periods, something the industry says will reduce red tape.
Read More »The Economics and Ethics of Trophy Hunting by Judith Lavoie
By Faisal Moola, Director General, Ontario and Northern Canada http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/panther-lounge/2014/03/bc-government-gets-failing-grades-in-grizzly-bear-management/ A century ago, 35,000 grizzly bears lived in British Columbia and also flourished from Alaska to Mexico, and east to Ontario. Today, only about 15,000 grizzly bears inhabit B.C., having… Read More »B.C. Government gets Failing Grades in Grizzly Bear Management by Dr. Faisal Moola
NOTE from BM: Bears Matter Petition Letter to Premier Clark to Ban the Trophy Killing of Grizzly Bears in BC: http://tinyurl.com/ban-grizzly-hunt-2014 Cheeky the bear, Courtesy of bearsforever.ca http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/21/trophy-hunters-grizzly-bear-hunting-canada by Jacqeline Windh for theGuardian.com Feb 21, 2014 (see… Read More »Shame on the trophy hunters: a grizzly bear is worth more alive than dead
