Ontario is looking to reinstate the spring bear hunt.
On Friday, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Bill Mauro announced a five-year pilot proposal that would open the spring season on black bears in all 88 of the province’s Wildlife Management Units.
“It has been a long road. I think it’s fair to say I t hasn’t always ben an easy journey.,” Mauro said.
“We’re cognizant of the fact that there are people who are on the other side of this particular issue but this is a clear recognition on the part of our government that we’re sensitive to the needs of Northern Ontario and we understand very clearly that this is an issue of great concern to all of the municipalities – if not most of the municipalities – in Northern Ontario.”
A 30-day consultation period began as Mauro made the announcement, which will inform the program’s rollout. In the pilot project’s current form, it will forbid hunters from killing cubs or sows with cubs, as well as forbid hunting from road and railways.
Out-of-province hunters would be required to employ outfitters to guide them but the policy change will re-open the market to bear hunting as a tourism draw.
The plan follows a two-year pilot project that opened the spring hunt to resident hunters living near Northern Ontario’s urban centres, where the province said most problem bear incidents occurred.
Mauro expected the resident spring hunt alone wouldn’t bring the black bear population into balance and expects bringing non-residents back into the fold will yield better conservation results.
“I believe we will see a connection between the number of human-bear interactions and conflicts and we believe that’s a good justification for moving forward with the policy,” he said.
When the Progressive Conservative government cancelled the spring bear hunt in 1999, Mauro said it was valued at $40-million. If and when it's reinstated, Nature and Outdoor Tourism Organization presdient Brenda Baughman estimates it will be worth $100-million.
As the American economy recovers from the 2008 recession, its dollar has been strengthening relative to the Canadian dollar. Those factors combined with better education among American tourists regarding expectations at the Canadian border, she said the market is ripening for Ontario tourism in the U.S.
“We often get requests from people saying, ‘when are you going to get the spring bear hunt back because I’ve been to Manitoba, I’ve been to Quebec but I’d really like to come back to Ontario,’” she said.
“We know there’s a market out there for that and that would be something we could easily tap into.”
Northwestern Ontario Sportsmens’ Alliance executive director John Kaplanis called the move “outstanding news” for both conservation and tourism.
“It’s not just a step for bear hunters,” he said.
“This is a step for the entire north, for the economy, for making our communities safer and certainly for bears. From a conservation perspective, the benefits are manifold so we’re very pleased with the announcement today.”
