The case for spring bear hunts

The McGuinty government's bear policies, which were inherited from Mike Harris' government are not based on wildlife science and are endangering the lives of northerners.

Up to the week of Aug. 26, the number of calls about problem bears across the province that required a follow-up by ministry officials was an astonishing 9,151.

Weekly reports from across the north and as far south as Muskoka and Peterborough and other areas not known for bear populations are highlighting the explosion of human-bear conflicts.

Many wildlife biologists support the reinstatement of the spring bear hunt and fear it is only a matter of time before another fatality occurs due to the overpopulation of bears.

In 1999, the provincial Progressive Conservative government was politically blackmailed by aggressive environmental organizations funded by multi-millionaire industrialist Robert Schad. The main issue at the time was a supposed epidemic of orphaned bear cubs due to the spring hunt.

The environmentalists threatened to distribute anti-bear hunting videos to voters and rent bill boards with images of cute bear cubs in PC ridings that were vulnerable to defeat.

The economic impact to the Northern Ontario tourist economy was enormous.

From government data, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters estimated that from 1987 to 1998, the spring bear hunt contributed $350 to $500 million to the north, provided 2,600 to 3,600 person years of employment and involved the participation of almost 100,000 hunters.

The issue of orphaned bear cubs was always environmental propaganda and bear biologists knew this.

Any experienced bear hunter will tell you that the lack of vegetation in the spring helps them to clearly distinguish male from female bears or sows with cubs, which have been illegal to shoot in the province of Ontario since 1987. The amount of orphan cubs was negligible compared to the current situation.

Terry Quinney, a biologist with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), said, "The appalling reality is that in recent years, thousands of black bears have been shot and wasted by government officers, police and landowners in defence of private property, farm livestock and crops or in the interests of public safety. It's anyone's guess as to exactly how many bear cubs have been orphaned because their mothers were labeled as 'nuisance' animals, but the number is certainly far in excess of that when the spring hunt was still in effect."

The Ministry of Natural Resources keeps blaming the problem of nuisance bears on poor seasons for blueberries and continues to lecture homeowners about making their homes less enticing for bears with the elimination of bird feeders and exposed garbage even as they highlight the largely ineffective "Bear Wise Program" as the solution.

Ministry staff can't keep up with public complaints while it is well known that the relocation of nuisance bears have an 80 percent failure rate resulting in a massive waste of the taxpayer's hard earned dollars.

A 2003 government report stated there were no links between nuisance bears and the cancellation of the spring bear hunt. Yet government statistics show that from 1995 to 1998 (the period before the hunt was canceled) certain Ministry of Natural Resources offices received a total of 2,600 nuisance bear complaints while from 1999 to 2002, (years immediately following spring hunt) these same offices received 12,426 bear complaints. In Manitoba, which kept its spring bear hunt, the figures for the same time periods were 5,850 and 5,838 respectively. However, for economic reasons the Ontario report recommended that a "limited spring bear hunt be re-instated for socio-economic reasons, but under strict condition."

A recently published scientific paper,  Going Into the 21st Century-A Perspective on Trends and Controversies in the Management of the American Black Bear,  by eminent biologists Hank Hristienko from the Manitoba Department of Conservation and John E. McDonald Jr. from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, confirmed too effectively control bear populations and avoid costly and dangerous encounters with humans, more bear hunting is needed.

The report surveyed 52 jurisdictions across North American including all Canadian provinces except PEI where no black bears exist.

One of the most troubling statistics from this report was that about nine percent of the Ontario bear population was hunted in the 1987-89 period before the cancellation of the spring hunt in 1999 while only five percent were harvested in 1999-2001.

The report stated, "In 17 jurisdictions that had spring hunts, estimated black bear populations increased by 6 percent, compared to a 51 percent increase in the 21 jurisdictions with fall-only seasons."

The report goes on to state, "Hunted populations seem to be more wary of humans than unhunted populations…. By reducing the density of bears in the spring, agencies are being proactive in addressing the density and distribution of bears before the peak problem bear season." 

Anecdotal evidence from across northern Ontario indicates an aggressive boldness in many bear encounters.

In a November 2005 Queen's Park debate on nuisance bears, NDP MPP Gilles Bisson, who represents Timmins - James Bay said, "My point is, the bears aren't afraid anymore. The bears are basically in contact with humans much more than they have ever been before, to the point where the fearful part is that they're not afraid."

Furthermore, during the spring hunt, many of the bears that were harvested were big, aggressive male bears that would routinely cannibalize younger bears that in turn would take chances foraging in more populated areas.

Population management through conservative hunting seasons and regulations cannot keep up with the reproductive ability of the American black bear. New research also indicates that some bear populations in the east and mid-west are more productive than earlier thought. Most females have their first litters at age three - some at two - with an average litter size of three cubs. Black bears can successfully reproduce until their mid-20s.

In many of the areas the North American black bear inhabits, it is the dominate predator. The average male can weigh anywhere from 200 to 600 pounds, is four to six feet in length and have temperaments that can vary from shy to aggressive depending on how hungry they are.

Black bears are opportunistic omnivores - meaning they eat both plants and animals for its food source depending on availability. They have been known to hunt moose, caribou and deer calves, farm livestock, and frequently cannibalize smaller rivals and their cubs as well as eat blueberries, acorns and various other plants. By the late summer and early fall, the black bear must put on enough fat to sustain itself through its winter hibernation which partly explains their aggressive feeding frenzy at this time of year. Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come.

They are not docile "bumpkins" feeding on honey as seen in the popular "Winnie the Pooh" cartoons. Needless to state the obvious, do not, under any circumstances feed a black bear in the wild!

While the odds of being killed by a black bear are rare they can be a serious threat to person safety. Since 1900, there have been 58 deaths due to black bears across Canada and the United States. Thirty-two of those fatalities have been since 1980 while the 12 deaths since 2000 account for 21 percent of the total.

Five years ago this month, a horrific tragedy took place in Fallsburg, New York, 70 miles northwest of New York City, when a five-month old infant in a stroller was killed by a black bear . In June 2007, a Utah boy became a bear fatality when he was dragged out of his tent while camping and a six-year old Tennessee girl was also killed the previous year. Authorities termed these deaths as "deliberate predatory attacks."

In Ontario, there have been eight deaths from black bear attacks since 1968. Five of those fatalities have been in Algonquin Park. The most recent tragedy occurred in September 2005, north of Chapleau, when a wilderness camper was killed and her husband seriously injured. There is very strong evidence that most of the Ontario deaths were also caused by predatory bears hunting humans for food.

Quinney says, "The spring bear hunt was based on modern scientific wildlife management practices. We seem to be in the middle of a perfect storm as a result of government denying reality in combination with an exploding bear population that in all probability will lead to more human fatalities. The real tragedy is that politicians seem more worried about votes than the safety of people in bear country."

The official policy of the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP is to maintain the status quo due to valuable votes from southern Ontario's powerful environmental groups.

Since the safety of children and seniors in Northern Ontario is at stake, political gamesmanship must be put aside and Dalton McGuinty, John Tory and Howard Hampton should jointly issue a press release declaring that a carefully managed spring bear hunt will be reinstated due to public safety.  No further studies are needed.

Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based communications consultant and policy analyst who writes extensively on mining and northern issues. He is not a hunter. [email protected]

The complete Hristienko-McDonald Bear Report can be found on: www.ofah.org