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A spring Black Bear hunt using bait, is a sustainable and ethical activity that assists in black bear management and brings significant economic and social benefit to Ontario. These benefits include:

• Employment
• Economic return
• Diversified recreational opportunities
• Ability to avoid hunting nursing female Black Bears
• Reduction of black bear populations inclined to be problem or nuisance black bears which:
  • Reduces danger to humans, pets and livestock
  • Reduces predation of Black Bear cubs and female bears
  • Reduces predation of other animals, especially the young, such as Moose, Beaver, Deer, etc
• Ability to target male black bears which:
  • Reduces predation of Black Bear cubs and female black Bears
  • Reduces predation of other animals, especially their young, such as Moose, Beaver, Deer, etc
  • Reduces danger to humans, pets and livestock
• Reduction of any overpopulations of Black Bears which benefits other wildlife populations being stressed by overpredation by Black Bears.
• Humane harvest of the hunted animal

The spring Black Bear hunt had an estimated economic benefit of $40 million per year. The activity occurs during a shoulder season where very few other tourism activities are available and extends the tourism season by four to eight weeks. Tourists who travel to Quebec or Manitoba for a spring bear hunt are likely to return to those provinces for fishing trips or other tourism activities.

An appropriately regulated spring black bear hunt meets the criteria that the people of Ontario expect to be applied to any hunting activity.

• The population must be sustainable
• The method of harvest must be humane
• Public safety should be protected

Sustainable population

• The Black Bear population is stable or growing
• No sustainability concerns were raised during the spring hunt
• A spring hunt skews the harvest toward immature male Black Bears
• A spring hunt removes animals before the peak food season, helping to insure the health of the remaining population
• A spring hunt over bait helps avoid the harvest of Female Black Bears with cubs, since:
  • Female Black Bears with cubs avoid sites frequented by other bears.
  • In the spring, Black Bear cubs stay very close the the female making identification very easy.
  • Nursing Black Bears develope noticable breasts making identification very easy.
  • Baiting allows the time and opportunity to clearly identify whether the Black Bear is a nursing female.
• Reducing the population of male Black Bears in the spring reduces mortality of Female Black Bears and cubs due to cannibalism by male Black Bears
• The meat and hide of Black Bears are of highest quality in the spring

Humane Harvest

• Hunting over bait provides for clear target identification and shot placement to insure a clean, humane kill.
• Foliage is generally less dense in the spring, improving identification and shot placement
• Orphaning of Black Bear cubs is avoided since female Black Bears with cubs are readily identifiable in the spring due to:
  • The physical evidence of nursing, specifically obvious breast development.
  • Good visibility because spring foliage is less developed
  • The fact that young cubs remain very close to their mother in the early spring
• The spring hunt was canceled to avoid orphaning cubs, but statistics show that cub orphaning has increased dramatically since the cancellation. This is due to a number of factors including:
  • Female Black Bears becoming nuisance bears because of competition for food, and having to be dispatched
  • Female Black Bears becoming nuisance bears because of competition for food, and being separated from their cubs during relocation
  • Female Black Bears being killed by other bears competing for food or predating their cubs
    
    Protecting Public Safety
• There are very few other recreational users in the woods at the time of a spring Black Bear hunt
• Visibility is relatively good
• Hunting over baits provides clear sight lines and a known shooting direction
• Hunting over bait greatly reduces the chance of wounding a Black Bear
• Bait sites condition Black Bears to seek food in the bush, rather than in populated areas
• The comparative study conducted by the Province of Manitoba demonstrated a clear link between spring Black Bear hunting and reductions of nuisance bear activity

If you would like to protest against thoughtless hunting bans such as the cancellation of Ontario' spring bear hunt you can sign a petition here
Petition to Stop Bans on Hunting

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www.OntarioBlackBears.com
Ontario Black Bears Black Bear Facts VIDEO Nursing Mother Black Bear Toronto Star Editorial  Black Bear Politics Spring Bear Hunt NOTO Black Bear Bulletin Board Why?
Ontario's Problems With Black Bears ~As Complicated As Nature Itself~
Spring Black Bear Hunt Background Ethical Hunting Sustainable Population Humane Harvest Protecting Public Safety

Travel & Adventure in Canada - Reisen & Abenteuer in Kanada