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
“There’s a real variety of bears that we see there. There are bears that are very wild and others that have been [getting used to humans] for years and years,” he said. “We’ve got a bear we call Mom and … she’s had two sets of triplets over the course of my time doing photo tours there. Literally, a hunter could walk up to within 20 feet and shoot her. She has absolutely no concern for human beings at all. Very much like Big Momma. There’s a whole host of bears that we’ve named. It almost makes me sick to my stomach to think someone could go in there and shoot them.”
Mr. Marriott said the Cariboo wildlife units should remain closed because the bears are so vulnerable, and because they support a growing wildlife-viewing business that makes them more valuable alive than dead.
“This is one of the most spectacular bear-viewing places in the world. It’s on par with the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary,” he said, referring to a provincial park on B.C.’s North Coast. “This whole area where they are trying to expand this hunt is … national-park-like stuff. It’s stunningly beautiful.”
In December, the government decided to open the four wildlife management units – two in the Cariboo and two in the Kootenays – to limited spring hunting, starting in April. Garth Mowat, head of the government’s natural resource science and stewardship section in the Kootenay region, said the province routinely closes management units when game populations are threatened.
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
The power of social media is just beginning to show up in grasssroots rallies like those held yesterday by the organizers of the ‘Save BC Bears’ Rally in Victoria. The rally organizers and participants may have packed off home to… Read More »The SayZu Communications Experiment Brought a unique reach of 412,197 twitter feeds to SAVEBCBEARS Rally!
