Bear “occurrences” increase ten-fold despite MNR program

Bear “occurrences” increase ten-fold despite MNR program
Bear Wise program has proven to be long on words, short on results

For years, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) has warned the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) that the cancellation of the spring bear hunt and its replacement with the provincial Bear Wise Program would negatively impact public safety. Instead of managing Ontario’s bears for optimal sustainable populations as it is mandated to do, the province has instead opted to try to manage people, with dismal, and sometimes near fatal results.

“To minimize the risks to people and maximize the benefits of this resource for society, the Ontario government needs to reinstate the spring bear hunt,” said Terry Quinney, O.F.A.H. Provincial Manager of Fish and Wildlife Services. “It was a time-tested, successful bear management tool that also provided tens of millions of dollars in economic benefits before it was terminated, taking with it much-needed employment, particularly in northern and central Ontario.”

Already this season, police have killed bears in London and Peterborough that presented a threat to people. In Severn Township, the search continues for the bear that inflicted extensive wounds on a Waubaushene man last week, in an apparently unprovoked attack.

In 1999, the province promptly and without scientific reason, cancelled the spring bear hunt, resulting in a ten-fold increase in occurrences of human-bear conflict