British Columbia Bans The Hunting Of Grizzly Bears For Sport
Friday, August 25, 2017
British Columbia, a Canadian province known for its monolithic bear population has just announced plans to end the "bloody" practice of killing grizzlies for sport.
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The reason for banning the hunt of the brown bear sub-species because of changing public opinion, stating that its citizens could no longer stomach the "cruel and barbaric" act.
The ban will take effect throughout the province starting November 30, which means the August open season (which starts this week) will be the last for trophy hunters.
Forestry Minister Doug Donaldson said that while the number of bears killed annually by hunters was at a "sustainable" level, public opinion had turned. "It's not a matter of numbers," he said: "It's a matter of society has come to the point in BC where they are no longer in favor of the grizzly bear trophy hunt."
British Columbia is home to 15,000 grizzlies, almost a quarter of the entire North American population. Hunters are said to kill around 300 of these silvertip bears each year, according to Government statistics.
The move to enforce a ban, which blocks hunting in the Great Bear Rainforest, has been celebrated by environmental groups who say they have been "counting down the days until the killing stops."
"Nearly 4,000 grizzly bears have been slaughtered for so-called sport," Joe Foy from the Wilderness Committee explains.
He said the British Government, now led by Premier John Horgan of the New Democratic Party, should be "commended for ending this cruel and barbaric blood sport for good."
"We’re glad the senseless killing of grizzly bears is coming to an end. Now this at-risk species has a better chance to recover."
The Committee for Endangered Wildlife in Canada list grizzly bears as a special concern – and claim population numbers across the country are dangerously low due to hunting and habitat losses.
Hunting grizzlies for meat will still be permitted in parts of the province but the Raincoast Conservation Foundation insist strict legislations are brought into to prevent abuse.
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