| OFAH FILE: 842 | For Immediate Release |
Bear with, not Bear Wise
Provincial government is wasting bears and seriously threatening public safety
It has been nine years since the government of Ontario succumbed to political pressure, ignored compelling science, and banned the early season black bear hunt. Despite fierce opposition by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) and other conservation organizations, the hunt was cancelled, and a vital bear management tool was lost.
Today, as a direct result of that decision, the once highly valued black bear has been relegated to the status of vermin. Bear cubs, who were supposed to be protected by the cancellation of the early season hunt, are instead, being orphaned in greater numbers than ever before. As female bears with cubs are increasingly forced into contact with humans over limited food and habitat, these once prized animals are being relocated or killed.
“Black bear overpopulation in Northern Ontario is reaching the crisis level. I am very worried about the welfare of our children, the safety of our workers in the bush, and people simply enjoying their camp or backyard,” says Jack Hedman, O.F.A.H. President, a resident of Fort Frances. “The Bear Wise program is clearly not the solution to this very real public safety threat, or to the tragic wasting of our bears.”
O.F.A.H. biologists concur with Hedman. In Moose Review questionnaires that O.F.A.H. members sent to their Federation, more than 80 percent expressed concern about increasing black bear numbers in core northern moose range, and cited bear predation as a likely cause of increased moose calf mortality. Moose hunters commonly reported that they are encountering moose cows, but fewer calves and more bears. The Ministry of Natural Resources needs to listen and respond to this community knowledge.
Hedman cites an acquaintance who recently counted 36 bears while traveling along a 30-mile stretch of road near Fort Frances, and another who tells of recurring attempts by bear to enter his cabin in the Dryden area. Foresters, farmers and cottagers are reporting that bear numbers are escalating alarmingly, and bears have been captured in urban areas such as Pickering, Aurora, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Peterborough and Guelph.
Last summer’s grisly discovery of a bear dump containing sows and cubs on Crown land near Timmins graphically demonstrates the current status of black bear in Ontario. As predicted by the O.F.A.H., statistics are proving that cub orphaning has increased dramatically since the cancellation of the early season hunt, and a comparative study demonstrates a clear link between early season black bear hunting and reductions of nuisance bear activity.
So far, the Ministry of Natural Resources’ (M.N.R.) response to the dangerous escalation in bear/human conflict has been limited to the Bear Wise program, which is currently under government review. The program’s own statistics reveal there is an upward trend in bear occurrences (resulting in phone or onsite response) to an estimated 12,645 in 2007/8, up from 8,547 in 2004/5. The trend would be downward or stable if bear populations were being well managed.
“Quite simply, the province’s approach to dealing with this issue has failed. It’s time they stopped worrying about optics and started reinstituting some form of early season hunt on a Wildlife Management Unit basis to better manage black bears and protect public safety,” added Hedman. “They are too precious a natural resource to continue treating them this way.”
With 83,000 members and 655 member clubs, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is the leading fishing, hunting and conservation organization in Ontario. For more information visit www.ofah.org.
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