Well Folks, since we’re getting all wound up, here’s another doozy for you!
This month we ‘celebrate’ 11 years since the then Ontario Conservative Government caved to pressure from a small, but powerful activist group, and cancelled the Ontario spring bear hunt.
How has the cancelled spring hunt affected you, and what should be done now after more than a decade since the hunt’s departure?
Drop me a line!
Outdoorsguy
Ok, I will get the ball rolling, here’s what I think about the cancelled spring hunt!
As a hunter who spends much of his time across the river in QC, I can tell you that – love them or hate them – the Quebec government has taken the black bear issue quite seriously in that province over the years.
They too had both a fall and spring bear hunt at one time and ended up scrapping the fall hunt in the late 90’s. A number of years later, after more and more negative regional bear encounters prompted special controlled hunts in specific areas, the Government sad down a took a hard look at the black bear issue.
Within 5 years, a fall hunt was reintroduced in the Outaouais region – an area of very high bear density – then in several other zones throughout the province where required. It was deemed cost effective and sound from a management standpoint, than to deal with bear encounters and people getting killed more and more. And then having to set-up unpopular culls in problem areas.
Perhaps Ontario should look at things from not only a public opinion standpoint, but a wildlife management and public safety standpoint as well..
In a nutshell, I believe the Ontario spring hunt could easily be brought back in most regions of the province, and it will do a world a good! Use Quebec as an example if you must, a province who can admit they made an error in judgement in the 90’s and who took measures to fix it!
My two cents..
Outdoorsguy
Well, I understand the Ontario residents situation. As a Quebecer I can enjoy in my Zone Spring and Fall Bear hunting in the Outaouais. So being a good friend I’m going, with an Ontario resident, for the first time to a QC outfitter for a Spring bear hunt, instead of giving myself thje baiting troubles. Outdoorguy, you know the outfitting services of Laurel and Denis.
I believe many Ontarians have made the decision in those 11 years, to come and spend their money in QC. Honestly a loss of revenue for ON, and good management effort to control the bear population.
Now you’ve got me started!
The provincial government deals with the bear problem by
telling people not to put out bird feeders. Now that’s funny.
They also take nuisance bears and relocate them to other areas, only problem is, other people live in these areas, so it works kind of like the old shell game. Once a bear comes back to it’s original home and gets caught again, they shoot it and dump it in a garbage dump near Timmons. I’m not making this up. (most bears do find their way back home in short order)
So the MNR kills them because the hunters can’t. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. All the while, the OFAH, the protectors of our heritage, sit on their hands . Possibly because they were a part of the spring bear hunt cancellation.
Yes LeGrand, I know the Lebrun’s and I know that Bryson Lake Lodge is one fine spring black bear operation indeed. They understand how to treat their clientele, as do most other QC operations who cater to spring bear hunters.
Good for you LG, I will never forget my last spring bear hunt with Domaine Shannon a few years back. I went with my Dad and honestly it was one of the best experiences of my life. The Danis family – of Maniwaki – as with the Lebrun’s just seem to know how to manage their own territories for bears, evidently better than the ON gov’t in some ways.
You may have hit the nail on the head, Ontario hunters have resigned themselves to the fact that the spring hunt is gone, so make the trek across to QC where they’re treated like kings and queens, and have the chance to hunt a thriving black bear population with mosquitoes and black flies in the air…
Unless you have actually done it, you have no idea what it’s like to pursue black bears in the Spring, and it is a bloody shame that Ontario has seemingly lost that part of their heritage.
Outdoorsguy
Yes Iggy, there is a long list of terrible things that go on in Ontario with regards to the black bear. All of those you mention is sadly true!
I truly hope all those fat cats in TO who funded the cancellation in the first place are sent photos of the Northern Ontario bear dump sites where nuisance animals are put. Perhaps that would turn their collective stomachs enough to start sending out propaganda videos again – this time in support of the spring hunt reinstatement!
It may be the only way for the animal rights people to reach atonement for their actions back in 1999.
Yeah, I would love to document the result of their handywork and distrubte the videos to all members of PETA and CPAWS.
It is a most unfortunate catch-22 and Im not sure what to do at this point…thanks Iggy for your thoughts.
Outdoorsguy
we had a good discussion at university last night on conceptual analisis … candaians for the most part dont care what is going on unless it is the lane they are travelling … they dont care whats in the other lanes untill they have to move left or right…. just like all the other issues out there unless it directely affects them they dont give a rats a$$
It would be interesting to know how to get the ball rolling on implementing the spring bear hunt.
I’ve never hunted bear, but I know it’s a problem. When moose hunting this past year in Ontario, I had 4 different individuals, at different times, tell me to shoot any bear I saw and walk away. Of course, I didn’t do that, but that tells me there is a problem. Add in the number of ‘bear encounters’ and ‘sightings’ and the picture becomes more clear (and yes, I know part of this problem is human encroachment on the land). Then I was disturbed to see a number of cows while hunting without ANY calfs! We barely saw any calf sign, but saw lots of adult moose sign.
I had 2 different trappers (and a bush pilot) tell me they had seen bears attacking newly born calfs for an easy kill. Apparently, the bears can detect the pregnant cows and once they break their water before birth, the bear waits and pounces on the easy dinner. This is indeed part of nature, but when we were the population control on the bears, that meant x number of bears around. Take that population control away and now there’s x amount of bears to feed on those moose calfs.
The challenge is how to find statistics and facts to back this up so it doesn’t come across as a group who just wants hunting privileges back. We’re proud conservationists as well.
Jeff,this is a subject that makes my blood boil .When i used to hunt bear in the spring it was nothing to see 250-400lb bears.Females with 1-2-and sometimes 3 cubs.When they first cancelled within 2 years you would see a pile of 150-150lb bears.Then they started to dwindle down.The reason for the cancelling was to protect the mothers and cubs from hunters-( who would shoot anything that moved and the cubs would be orphaned) What a load of crap!!!!.In my opinion there is more infanticide going on now than ever before.I don’t see near the amount of mothers with cubs that i used to enjoy watching.I truely think that the population is now headed down as males kill the cubs in order to breed an ever decreasing female population and food sources fluctuate .Sure some areas have problem bears but thats what you get when they no longer have to fear man.This fall i did not even see a bear that was worth taking.I think i said this once before that the province of quebec does a much better job at managing it’s wildlife than we do in ontario.Also another point worth making.They wonder why the moose population is droping.This fall while moose hunting one of our guys attempted a moose call which sounded more like a dieing moose or one in distress.The result when he finished was to look out at 4 bears headed his way.
Paul, I share your frustration with the whole thing. As you say, you cant argue with firsthand accounts of what is going on in the wild..and Ive a lot of them over the years!
What to do now?
Outdoorsguy
Keebler, they use to say that bears in QC and ON accounted for approx 25-30% of the calf moose mortality. I shutter to think what that percentage would be today.
Thanks for the insight
Outdoorsguy
Jeff.There is one missing piece to the bear issue and any hunting issue for that matter.That being the “””MEDIA”””. We complain about the politicions all the time.Although they have the final say,it is the media who undermine the hunting comunity.They are the ones who make hunting look bad to the politicions and ordinary folks.Some writer for them decides to do a piece and who do they go to for an interview,certainly not a doctor or lawyer who enjoys hunting because they know that if they misprint or misquote them they could have there ass sued.They choose some person who does not realize his every word is being twisted in order to make us all look like redneck ramboes shooting up the bush for no reason.We as hunters do not do enough to defend our activity.We sit back with the view that (oh they wouldn’t dare take this or that away) but we won’t say anything thinking it can never happenEven on the radio the other day we were refered to as rednecks over the coyote issue.It’s funny because every year at hunting season you see columns of trucks carrying quads,boats.trailers and every other thing that is associated with hunting.All headed out of the city (i’m talking hundreds if not thousands) and yet we sit back and let the media make us all look like a bunch of inbread hillbillys from way back of nowhere.
Paul:
As a member of the Outdoor Writers of Canada Association (Founded in 1957) and a contributor of several publications, I myself am also a member of the Media.
Although, I would not consider Outdoor Writers to be members of the Mainstream media per se, we are still a component of the bigger package.(And do carry Press cards)
I know what you mean though..so long as you keep us hunting & fishing scribes out of it, as we are the only real Media left with an interest in preserving our hunting and fishing heritage.
For anyone who’s interested btw..here is the link to the Association Website:
http://www.outdoorwritersofcanada.com/
Outdoorsguy
huh?
when does your space ship leave