An act to prohibit the hunting of bears*
* Drafted by Sierra Legal Defense Fund for Paul George, Initiative Proponent
This Grizzly in mid-coast of B.C. needs full protection now. Photo credit: Ian McAllister
Whereas the population, range and habitat of Grizzly Bears in British Columbia has diminished dramatically since European settlement due to increasing human demand for land and resources, the erosion of wilderness, and increased hunting and poaching;
and Whereas Black Bears are also threatened by the same human pressures as well as the recent decimation of the Asiatic Black Bear in East Asia;
and Whereas the burgeoning international trade in bear parts is exposing bears to increasing levels of poaching and hunting;
and Whereas British Columbia recognizes and supports the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Biological Diversity;
and Whereas the hunting and killing of bears for sport constitutes an unnecessary and serious threat to the survival of bears;
and Whereas the hunting and killing of bears for sport is unacceptable to many British Columbians;
and Whereas bears are a powerful symbol of British Columbia's magnificent wilderness;
and Whereas British Columbians seek to main in perpetuity the diversity and healthy populations of bears in British Columbia;
THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assemby of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
The Wildlife Act, S.B.C. 1982, c. 57 is amended by adding the following sections:
125. The hunting of bears in British Columbia is prohibited, notwithstanding any other provision in this Act.
126. A person who hunts a bear, except as provided in sections 81, 127, 128, and 129 of this Act, commits an offence.
127. No provision of this Act abrogates or derogates from aboriginal or treaty rights of a First Nation or applies to any aboriginal person hunting for cultural or sustenance purpose.
128. A person who kills, injures, captures or otherwise harms a bear that threatens imminent harm to a person or persons does not thereby commit an offence.
129. A person who kills, injures, captures or otherwise harms a bear in the course of carrying out scientific research pursuant to a valid permit issued under this Act does not thereby commit an offence. 130. A person who sells, traffics or possesses for the purpose of selling or trafficking bears, including any parts or derivative products thereof, commits an offence.
Offences and Penalties
131. (1) Where a person is convicted of an offence under section 126 or 130 of this Act, the person is liable
(a) for a first offence to a fine of not more than $250,000 and not less than $25,000 and a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both; and
(b) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000 and not less that $50,000 and a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year and not less than two months, or both.
132. For the purposes of the Sections 125 through 131:
"bear" includes a Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), a Black Bear (Ursus americanus) and all sub-species or colour variations of those species
"hunt" includes shooting at, attracting, baiting, searching for, chasing, pursuing, following after or on the trail of, stalking or lying in wait for a bear, or attempting to do any of those things, whether or not a bear is then or subsequently wounded, killed or captured, when the person's intention is to harm, kill or capture a bear
"traffic" means to buy, trade, transport or distribute for gain or consideration, or to offer to do so.
