Why the Spring Bear Hunt Matters
Author: Dean Taylor
Photo by: Cullen Sikkes
After over two decades, Ontario is finally looking to reimplement its spring Bear season. While implementing a new hunting season is difficult enough, reimplementing a once removed season involving an animal as beloved as the Black Bear is even harder. The Province of Ontario is asking for the help of hunters to comment on the proposal by February 18th. With this deadline fast approaching and the misinformed public backlash once again picking up steam, this article will try to clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding the hunt and highlight its value to Ontario and its wildlife.
For starters, this season is not new. Even since the original season's abolishment in 1999, the Province has been running a pilot spring Bear season since 2014. This pilot season was introduced as a response to the high number of Human-Bear conflicts that were occurring in eight Wildlife Management Units (WMU's) across the Province. Due to the success of the season and the continued rise in Bear encounters throughout the Province, Ontario extended the pilot season for four years, lasting from 2016 until 2020.
Since the season is up for renewal and the number of Human-Bear incidents continues to rise, the Province of Ontario has been careful to address all the issues surrounding the initial season to avoid the backlash that the previous season had seen. This includes the banning of shooting Bear Cubs and Mothers with Cubs, as well as reducing the number of hunting days in areas that may have more sensitive Bear populations. Although these amendments have been made and the scientific community has backed its reimplementation, criticism of the hunt continues to flood in.
One of the primary arguments against the spring bear hunt is that it orphans Bear Cubs. This argument not only got the hunt removed in 1999 but also threatens to put a halt to the reimplementation of the season this time around. While the argument may be prominent due to the loud voices that seek to spread it, it has very little scientific backing. In addition to prohibitions on shooting Cubs and Mothers with Cubs (fines up to $25,000 and a year in prison), the biology of bears and their activity in the springtime make the orphaning of Bear Cubs very rare.
Out of the 25,000 Bear Cubs that are born every year in Ontario, nearly half will die before the age of one from causes unrelated to hunting. In fact, one of the primary causes of these Cub's short lives is the high numbers of carnivorous male Bears that control food sources and prey upon vulnerable Cubs during the spring and summer. This carnivorous and aggressive behaviour is drastically reduced in areas that allow the spring hunt. This is due to the fact that Sows and Cubs emerge from the dens later than Boars, resulting in over 70% of the Bears harvested in the spring being male. The reduction of aggressive Boar populations not only stops the killing of Cubs but also reduces Human-Bear conflicts, as Sows and small Boars are no longer forced to rely on man-made food sources such as garbage dumps and crops as they try to avoid these aggressive Bears.
In addition to the ecological harm caused by the removal of the hunt, the removal of the season has also had great financial impacts, both for our Province and for those who rely directly on the hunt's stability. In 2017, Ontarians alone spent over $50.6 million on Bear-hunting-related purchases, in addition to the $25,000 that was spent on licenses; money that goes directly back into our fish and wildlife management programs. This money, as well as the large number of jobs that rely on the stability of the spring Bear hunt, are now directed to other provinces such as Manitoba and Quebec where the hunt remains legal.
The province of Ontario has taken all of these factors into consideration and has proposed the reimplementation of the hunt for 2021. While this is of course great news, it is by no means guaranteed that the season will go through. As mentioned above, Ontarians are being given until February 18th to provide feedback to the proposal and it is important that hunters make their voices heard and not allow misinformed opinions to once again dominate the discussion. All comments are being welcome at this link, so head over and submit your feedback and let your local representatives know that this is an issue that matters to you.
For more information on the proposal, check out our previous article, The Return of Ontario’s Spring Bear Season. Make sure you subscribe via email below and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with all the latest Northern Hunting and Fishing content!