Spring Grizzly Bear Hunt Starts in BC: Are Too Many Killed?

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  Created by Sudha Krishna | add comment

The Spring Grizzly Bear Hunts Begins April 1st in BC, But Are Too Many Being Killed?

The David Suzuki Foundation released a report on April 1st, the same day that the spring Grizzly Bear hunt begins in British Columbia, stating that too many bears were killed during the last hunt. The report claims that the hunt leaves more animals dead than what the province's wildlife guidelines allow and asks the government to end the trophy hunt once and for all.

• BC's Grizzly Bear Hunt: A Bloody Tradition?
• Groups Want Hunting Banned in Great Bear Rainforest
  

Hundreds of bears are killed during the trophy hunt season and bears may be killed for just their head or skin and the rest of their carcass may be discarded.

The report looked at the bears killed during the period of 2004 and 2008 and then looked at the numbers killed in the 'allowable human-caused mortality rate'. Out of the 57 different population areas for the bears, in 20 of those more bears will killed by hunting than the province's mortality rates allows. This happened at least once in each area in the five years that were examined as reported by the Canadian Press.

These numbers, once combined with other human kills, such as legal kills by wildlife management officials and also illegal poaching, meant that the allowed mortality rates were exceeded in 36 areas.

It is thought that British Columbia is home to about half of the Canadian Grizzly Bear population and a quarter of the whole population in North America. Grizzly Bears are often slow to reproduce and even though hunting is restricted to certain parts of the province, there is a hunt every spring and fall in British Columbia.

How Can You Help?

If you want to help stop the Grizzly Bear Hunt you can sign a petition or donate to the campaign and let your local government representative know that you are against the trophy hunt.