King’s Outdoor World Blog

Alberta Suspends Grizzly Hunt

March 14th, 2006 David King - King's Outdoor World

Alberta suspends (ban) the spring grizzly hunt stating that there are too few grizzlies than originally thought. Alberta’s provincial Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development has announced a suspension of its spring grizzly bear hunt while DNA census data is collected, which will continue “over the next few years.” Minister Dave Coutts said, “While we pursue better grizzly bear population estimates, Alberta will take the most precautionary approach possible with the spring hunt.” Two experts from Montana universities will provide scientific peer review of the provincial Draft Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan.

What does this mean? There is a ban on grizzly hunting in Alberta for three years. During this time they want to get more conclusive evidence of the true population of the grizzly bears. They claim there are projected population numbers of 1000 plus, however, the numbers could be as low as 500 or less. Because of the lack of valid population data, they are suspending the hunt to ensure the future of the grizzly bear.

I have my concerns about this. Whenever something is taken away, it is very difficult to re-instate. There is a tremendous push from the animal rights groups to ban bear hunting altogether. They are using this as a tremendous moral victory and now have three years to put the pressure on the government to keep it banned even if numbers are stable and on the rise. Will this be the last of the grizzly bear hunt for Alberta? Even in British Columbia, where there are an estimated 13,800 grizzly bears, a debate has been raging over the hunt. We will know in three years.

Information from CBC News state that Alberta issued 73 grizzly licences in 2005. Ten bears were killed in the hunt, and another 12 were killed in other circumstances, including two “problem bears,” two shot illegally and two killed in self defence. Conservationists wanted the hunt stopped because Alberta’s grizzly population is shrinking, but the Alberta Fish and Game Association favours a modest hunt to deal with “problem bears.”

Another article posted an interesting twist to the positive affects of hunting:

Ray Makowecki, a wildlife biologist and past president of the Alberta Fish & Game Association, said Alberta’s grizzly bears don’t need Mr. Bonko’s help. “There was a debate a few years ago as to whether there was less than 500 or more than 900 grizzly bears in Alberta,” Mr. Makowecki said. “It’s very difficult to count bears. The new estimates are in the 700 range.” That means the population has been stable during the 15 years that the hunting-draw system has been in place, he said. And it may even be increasing. “There is some anecdotal, very important indicators of trends, and these are the people who are outdoors, the conservation officers, the biologists, outfitters and hunters. … If you talk to someone who’s spent 30 years in the bush, there’s no question but that there are more grizzlies. “From that perspective, we say the hunt has no impact … and it should continue.” Mr. Makowecki, a former regional wildlife director for the province, said there’s also the important matter of continued grizzly bear monitoring. As long as there is a hunt, he said, wildlife biologists will keep a close watch on the bear population to make sure a decline doesn’t begin. Without the hunt, such monitoring would stop.

Hunting

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