Trophy-hunting opposition takes aim

“Millions of people, from royalty to your next door neighbor, travel the world over to ‘feel’ bear country, often because their own bear country is gone” -– Dr. Brian Horejsi, Dr. Barrie Gilbery and Dr. Lance Craighead.

One of the most awe-inspiring sights a human may ever experience is the sight of an adult grizzly foraging in a crystal-clear river for salmon or pausing on a summer’s day to sample the sweet fruit of a berry bush. Yet the British Columbia government does not seem to think of these magnificent beasts as much other than grist for the economic mill, even though they have openly stated that grizzlies are “perhaps the greatest symbol of the wilderness (whose) survival will be the greatest testimony to our environmental commitment.”

As the NDP government was leaving office in early 2001, and following widespread public outrage over grizzly bear mismanagement and government incompetence on the issue, they established a three-year moratorium on hunting grizzly bears “pending completion of comprehensive population studies in the province’s six bio-regions”. Six months later one of the first acts of the newly-elected Liberals was to reinstate the hunt and appoint a new expert scientific panel of American biologists. They stated as their reason that the previous government had imposed the moratorium for political reasons.

According to the Pacific Wild Organization (http://www.pacificwild.org), in 2007, 403 grizzlies were killed in B.C., 363 of them by affluent, mostly American and European sport hunters, making that year the highest rate of hunter-caused mortality of these bears since records have been kept. The Vancouver Sun reported in March, 2009, that 317 grizzlies were killed in 2008 and another 3,476 black bears.

First Nations are disappointed and angry about the government’s seeming lack of concern about treaty rights to the protection of bears on their lands. Percy Starr, Kitasoo-Xaixais Chief, has said, “We’ve spent years to ensure our lands are protected, only to learn that trophy hunters can continue to come on our lands and kill bears for sport.”

A 2009 Ipsos Reid poll showed 78 per cent of B.C. residents oppose trophy hunting of bears. Now, outraged British Columbians are encouraged to join forces with a group of environmental and First Nations organizations that are forming a coalition against trophy hunting of bears. Their online petition will be sent to Premier Campbell and Minister of the Environment, Barry Penner, who stated in a CBC interview nearly a year ago that the provincial government had taken steps to ensure there is a sustainable population of bears. “The good news is that the grizzly bear population is either stable or growing” he said, adding that the province is not considering a ban on bear hunting.

Sponsors of the online petition are:

• The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition
• Pacific Wild
• Bluewater Adventures
• Bears Matter BC
• Ursa Freedom Project
• Natural Art – Brad Hill Photography
• Sierra Club BC
• Ocean Adventures
• Maple Leaf Adventures
• Valhalla Wilderness Committee
• Wilderness Committee
• Cold Coast Photography

Also on board is the Humane Society International, Canada.

Some are not in agreement though. The Guide Outfitters Association of British Columbia, which promotes wise conservation and use of all natural resources, say that the benefits of hunting are often overlooked. A spokesperson for the organization is reported as having said that hunters provide the majority of funding for conservation so one of the best ways to maintain a healthy grizzly population is to allow hunting. The hunting industry puts about $350 million into the provincial government’s coffers annually.

As this article was about to go to press, CVNews spoke to John Bergenske, executive director of Wildsight, which is a strong voice in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Upper Columbia River and the Columbia Mountains. He stated that Wildsight’s mandate is to work on creating and maintaining healthy eco-systems for all biology, not on individual threatened or endangered species, and so they do not take an organizational position on issues such as trophy bear hunting. “Each member of Wildsight is free to maintain his or her particular feelings about any issue,” he said, “but Wildsight, as an organization, must base its activities on known science, not becoming involved in moral issues”.

Related links:

• B.C. coalition seeks ban on trophy hunting of bears
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/03/17/bc-stop-bear-hunting.html

• Stop Trophy Hunting Bears in B.C
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/trophyhunt/

• Join Humane Society International Canada’s Race to Save the Bears – and Win a Trip to See Them
http://thegreenpages.ca/portal/ca/2009/10/join_humane_society_internatio.html

• Trophy Hunting of BC Grizzly Bears
http://www.pacificwild.org/site/great_bear_rainforest/conservation_priorities/sport_hunting.html