Scientists want end to grizzly bear hunt in B.C.

[Praxius]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080729/bc_grizzlies_080729/20080729?hub=Canada

VANCOUVER -- Hunting grizzly bears puts even more pressure on a species already in jeopardy from shrinking habitats, poaching and global warming, says a group of scientists and conservationists calling on the B.C. government to end the hunt.

The coalition has written to Premier Gordon Campbell, saying the bear population is declining and the numbers used by the government to manage the hunt are unreliable.

"Because the numbers are really unknown and not reliable, the effect of the hunt can't be fully predicted," said Paul Paquet, a wildlife expert based at the University of Calgary.

The B.C. Environment Department currently estimates there are about 17,000 grizzlies in B.C.

But Paquet, who has served on scientific advisory panels focusing on grizzly bears for the B.C. government, said the methods used to reach that figure rely on estimates that are open to wide margins of error.

"It could be 17,000, but it could also be 5,000," he said.

"The major issue for me is we really don't know how many grizzly bears there are, and if you consider the future of B.C., in terms of everything from mining to forestry to more roads, that's a problem."

The letter says grizzlies are already suffering from loss of habitat due to industrial logging, mining and energy developments, and could lose a major food source if climate change disrupts the salmon population.

The signatories of the letter - nearly five dozen researchers and conservationists mostly from Canada and the United States - say B.C. should err on the side of caution rather than needlessly put the grizzlies at greater risk.

Neither the premier nor the environment minister were available for comment Tuesday, but the Environment Department says its estimates are "thorough and conservative" and are backed up by established science.

The department also says it reviews quotas every year to ensure grizzly kills do not exceed a five-year running limit.

Scott Ellis of the Guide Outfitters Association of B.C., which represents the guides who must accompany non-residents on a hunt, said the province has spent millions on conservation and improved tracking, and he stands by the government estimate.

Even though grizzlies are considered a species at risk, Ellis insisted hunting a few hundred a year won't have a major impact.

"The total kill, total harvest is two per cent - it's insignificant," said Ellis.

The B.C. grizzly population is listed as a vulnerable, at-risk species by the province and a species of special concern by the federal government.

The province estimates B.C. is home to half of Canada's grizzly population, and a quarter of all grizzlies in North America.

Grizzly hunting is restricted in parts of the province, including in an area known as the North Cascades in the southern Interior, but hundreds are still hunted each year during fall and spring openings.

Earlier this year, hunt critics released provincial government statistics that showed 430 grizzly bears were killed in 2007.

Populations in the northwestern United States and in Alberta have been devastated, and they are steadily declining in British Columbia, said Paquet.

"Right now you're really looking for the last refuges for grizzly bears," said Paquet, referring to the B.C. population.

The letter says B.C. has failed to implement additional no-hunting zones as promised more than a decade ago in species management plans.

"There's a couple of places that have had bans in place for a long time, but pretty much the rest of the entire landscape, whether it's a conservancy are not, is open," said Chris Genovali of the Vancouver Island-based Raincoast Conservation Society.

The letter also says the hunt in Canada could compromise conservation efforts in the U.S., since part of that recovery could depend on grizzlies migrating south from Canada.

"Here in the United States, we've already eradicated most of our grizzly bears," Spencer Lennard of the Oregon-based group Big Wildlife said in an interview.

Lennard said Canadian jurisdictions have a responsibility to protect a species with such ecological and symbolic importance.

"We (the United States) have made a horrible mistake by ridding ourselves of this incredibly beautiful and very ecologically important species," said Lennard.

"So I would hope that the B.C. government does not make the same terrible mistake."

Shane Simpson, the environment critic for the Opposition NDP, noted that the previous New Democrat government implemented a moratorium on grizzly hunting in 2001, only to have it overturned a few months later after the Liberals took power.

"We called for the halt until we could get some good numbers that everybody could agree on," said Simpson.

"We shouldn't be hunting the bear until we know what we're talking about, and then we can have an intelligent conversation about what the status of it is."

 

[missile]

Unless the bears ataack people, I say leave them alone and ban hunting of them altogether.

 

[karrie]

In my experience one of the best ways to keep a population from roaming into towns and cities and putting themselves at risk, IS to hunt it. Bears are damn smart animals, and if they've seen and heard hunting, smelled human and smelled bear blood, they know to avoid the smell of human. The instant we stop hunting them, that tiny margin of bears that they hunt will be outnumbered by the percentage of grizzlies put down for being nuisance bears and roaming too close to civilization.

I've seen the same thing happen with coyotes and deer. The instant a deer population feels safe from hunting, they will take over the neighborhood, aggressively.

 

[L Gilbert]

In general, grizzlies don't like people so they tend to stay away from them. Black bears are different.
Either way, the only reason that grizzlies should be hunted is if they have messed with people. History shows that the more people advance into grizzly territory, the farther back the bears retreat. It's simple; take away what the bear considers food and the bear will go looking elsewhere.
I would make a bet that the main two reasons why grizzlies are hunted are that it is a macho thing to hunt one of the biggest carnivores in NorthAm and that certain people will pay high prices for certain bear parts because they think these parts are aphrodisiacs.

 

[#juan]

Hunting animals with a high powered rifle is not a "sport" by any stretch of the imagination. Hunting Grizzly bears for sport is the height of stupidity. The only acceptable reason to hunt any animal is to obtain food. In Canada we don't need to eat Grizzly bears, and we sure as hell shouldn't be providing "trophy" animals for foreign or domestic hunters seeking testosterone enrichment.

 

[lone wolf]

Hunting animals with a high powered rifle is not a "sport" by any stretch of the imagination. Hunting Grizzly bears for sport is the height of stupidity. The only acceptable reason to hunt any animal is to obtain food. In Canada we don't need to eat Grizzly bears, and we sure as hell shouldn't be providing "trophy" animals for foreign or domestic hunters seeking testosterone enrichment.

The "hunt" to keep the animal from recognizing its dominance is a necessary thing though. Though blacks and grizzlies are apples and oranges, the Ontario example of cubs losing their fear/respect for man might be worth heeding.

 

[karrie]

In general, grizzlies don't like people so they tend to stay away from them.

But they've always been hunted. So of course they don't like people. I know I have no way of proving that grizzlies would lose their current avoidance without hunting because so long as they're being hunted we'll never know for sure, but, I've seen it with so many other animals.

 

[L Gilbert]

Deer, coons, crows, skunks, blackbear, etc. are perfectly happy living near people because people provide food sources for them: cat food outside the door, dumps, dumpsters, chicken feed, etc. Grizzlies don't like the noises we make, they move away when people take away their source of food by covering the area with houses n parking lots. They also generally aren't fond of people as food. We aren't elk or salmon.
Not all animals are the same.

 

[#juan]

The "hunt" to keep the animal from recognizing its dominance is a necessary thing though. Though blacks and grizzlies are apples and oranges, the Ontario example of cubs losing their fear/respect for man might be worth heeding.

It is of prime importance that we realize that it is man who is doing the encroaching here. If you are in "bear country", it is up to you to avoid the bears not the other way around. Bears, Grizzlies in particular, are territorial and you enter the bear's territory at your own risk. In North American forests, or any other forest for that matter, Grizzly bears are dominant. I grew up in northern B.C. and people learned very quickly to avoid any female Grizzly with cubs and to make lots of noise to let bears know you are coming. The only Grizzly bear attacks I heard of were by females with cubs and the odd aggressive rogue male that were extremely rare. The only animal that came close to putting me up a tree was a cow moose with a calf. We seem to have this dopey wish to turn the whole province into a big "Stanley Park". It is not going to happen.

 

[lone wolf]

It is of prime importance that we realize that it is man who is doing the encroaching here. If you are in "bear country", it is up to you to avoid the bears not the other way around. Bears, Grizzlies in particular, are territorial and you enter the bear's territory at your own risk. In North American forests, or any other forest for that matter, Grizzly bears are dominant. I grew up in northern B.C. and people learned very quickly to avoid any female Grizzly with cubs and to make lots of noise to let bears know you are coming. The only Grizzly bear attacks I heard of were by females with cubs and the odd aggressive rogue male that were extremely rare. The only animal that came close to putting me up a tree was a cow moose with a calf. We seem to have this dopey wish to turn the whole province into a big "Stanley Park". It is not going to happen.

Ohh ... I'm not disputing you in the least. Thing is, though we may both respect the bush and its ways, the wusses who write the rules don't know the difference between teddy bear and real bear - and they're the very same yuppies who want their million-dollar mansions out among the mountains in the enchanted forest. Grizz is a very territorial critter - and doesn't recognize the difference between intruder and jogger.

 

[#juan]

Ohh ... I'm not disputing you in the least. Thing is, though we may both respect the bush and its ways, the wusses who write the rules don't know the difference between teddy bear and real bear - and they're the very same yuppies who want their million-dollar mansions out among the mountains in the enchanted forest. Grizz is a very territorial critter - and doesn't recognize the difference between intruder and jogger.

I don't think I have any argument with you except in my perfect world, we would all stay the hell out of bear country and hunting would be a thing of the past. The only thing going through the protected forest would be the highway,(I guess we need the highways) Last year I was offered a venison roast and I heartily accepted, but that damn deer was so full of ticks and worms I couldn't bring myself to eat it.

 

[lone wolf]

I don't think I have any argument with you except in my perfect world, we would all stay the hell out of bear country and hunting would be a thing of the past. The only thing going through the protected forest would be the highway,(I guess we need the highways) Last year I was offered a venison roast and I heartily accepted, but that damn deer was so full of ticks and worms I couldn't bring myself to eat it.

Hmm.... I'll be thinking of you when I flip this moose-steak on the barbie.... I'm sure Bullwinkle was a week into vacation and was just standing there chewing on clover.... It's rare not to have to get the wild taste out.

Highway through the protected forest? Roadkill.... Worst part about the bushwalk is the tendency to be quiet so you can see the furry critters - but that's when you're apt to run afoul of the ba'ar. A good ol' pea whistle works wonders sometimes....

 

[#juan]

Hmm.... I'll be thinking of you when I flip this moose-steak on the barbie.... I'm sure Bullwinkle was a week into vacation and was just standing there chewing on clover.... It's rare not to have to get the wild taste out.

Highway through the protected forest? Roadkill.... Worst part about the bushwalk is the tendency to be quiet so you can see the furry critters - but that's when you're apt to run afoul of the ba'ar. A good ol' pea whistle works wonders sometimes....

I used to hang a snuff tin with a few pebbles in it from my belt.
Btw that deer was a Vancouver Island deer and they are all a bit strange. They are either about the size of a German Shepherd or they are just about full size. I'm told they are very inbred and that could make them more prone to infection and parasites.

I would love a good moose steak....:smile: