Animal Alliance wonders if spring bear hunt is about public safety

A group opposed to Ontario's spring bear hunt is speaking out about the low number of animals killed in last year’s pilot project.

An Animal Alliance spokesperson said it was American hunters who traditionally killed the most bears in Ontario. Liz White said the reinstated hunt was for residents only, and they tend to be less successful at hunting bears.

• Spring bear hunt advocates want Ontario to accept non-resident hunters

“Ontario hunters seem to hunt differently than American hunters. A lot of them don't hunt over bait [and] don't use an outfitter. The success rate tends to be less in that regard so maybe some bears got away and didn’t get shot.”

Last year’s residents-only hunt yielded fewer than 200 bears.

White said her group also questions how the spring hunt, as rolled out by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, could actually have any impact on nuisance bears. 

“It was done in huge wildlife management units. In fact, some of the bears, I would suspect — we don't have the data yet — were not even near municipalities that were experiencing conflicts,” she said.

“So how does that solve the problem? I just don't get it.”

White added she hopes natural resources minister Bill Mauro is being forthright when he says the pilot project is about public safety.

She pointed out that sportsman's groups and outfitters have been pressuring government for the return of a spring bear hunt ever since it was cancelled in 1999.   

"I think there are, absolutely, human-bear conflicts. I think part of the conflicts are related to not understanding bears,” she said.

“But a large part of it is that understanding human behaviour — that is when you put your garbage out, waste disposal, how restaurants deal with food, all those sorts of things — actually attracts them into town to what they see as really good food. And studies that have been done by the Ministry of Natural Resources show that shooting a lot of bear doesn't really deal with the nuisance issue. "

The next spring bear hunt starts May 1.