The bare facts about bear populations indicate they are heading for trouble in both Canada and B.C.
Grizzly Bear in the now protected Khutzeymateen wilderness. Photo: Rick O'Neill.
It is estimated that Canada has between 20,000 and 25,000 Grizzly bears and about 400,000 Black bears. Last year, about 22,000 bears in total were legally killed. Factoring in the poaching at rates according to experts (Doggett, 1994; Slobodian, 1994), we are possibly losing 44,000 to 66,000 bears annually which is more than 15 percent of the total estimated population of bears in Canada.
Lacking an accurate census, estimates of B.C.'s bear population are wildly divergent. Grizzly bear population estimates range form 4,000 to 13,000 (bear biologist Wayne McCrory estimates 4,000 to 6,000; B.C. government 10,000 to 13,000; hunting organizations 13,000)
For Black bears the estimates range from 65,000 to 160,000 (Canadian Wildlife Federation estimates 62,800 to 112,000 (1992); B.C. government 120,000 plus or minus 25 percent; hunters 160,000)
Annual legal kills in B.C. are about 400 Grizzlies and 5,000 Blacks (including "nuisance bear" kills). After factoring in kills by poachers, we could be losing well in excess of 10 percent of both species province-wide. Given the B.C. Ministry of Environment's own stated policy that no more than four percent of Grizzlies and eight percent of Blacks are to be annually "harvested" from all sources, this is not sustainable and is leading to declining populations averaged over the province.
In term of enforcement, B.C. has only about 150 wildlife conservation officers patrolling some 5,000 square kilometers. According to their own admission, more than 2,500 conservation officers are needed to constitute an effective anti-poaching field force.
Poll shows people support ban on trophy hunting of Black Bears
Head and paws;grizzly bear hunt trophies. Photo:Valhalla Wilderness Society files.
In 1995, an Angus Reid poll commissioned by the conservation group Bear Watch indicated that 78 percent of those polled said they would support a ban on trophy hunting of Black bears in B.C.
The logical next step is to put the question to an official province-wide referendum, which is exactly what Paul George, founding Director of Western Canada Wilderness Committee is doing with his Ban Bear Hunting Initiative under B.C.'s Recall and Initiative Act. This is the chance for the silent majority who care about bears to have their voices heard.
