NDP SHOULD BAN ALL HUNTING OF GRIZZLIES

Harvest of bears for meat is loophole that must be plugged

Irecently had the pleasure of visiting grizzly bear country, inside the traditional Bute Inlet territory of the Homalco Nation. Deep in the dense forest, with impossibly massive bears fishing the shores of a salmon-packed river, it was a page out of National Geographic. We saw nine grizzlies, including a female with her spring cubs, and a newly independent juvenile gamely trying to catch his lunch.

I come often to see family and friends in B.C. I also come, as do so many from around the world, to see iconic wildlife in its natural settings. Many of us concerned about threatened wildlife were impressed that B.C. voters made trophy hunting of grizzlies an election issue. When the NDP government promised to end it, we looked forward to seeing that promise delivered quickly. The ban would be precedentsetting, with far-reaching implications.

Instead, the promised B.C. ban was both inexplicably delayed until after a full fall hunting season and then, when delivered, it was incomplete, allowing the killing of grizzlies for meat. Safari Club International has actively interfered in this matter since the campaign for the ban began, even calling members to crash and load media opinion polls and comments. But the reality is that while U.S. trophy hunters and local outfitters are angered by this ban, it is all too clear they see it as interference, not as an end to the killing.

The NDP has both dismissed science and insulted public intelligence by stating the hunt is sustainable and that the ban was only in response to a shift in public attitudes. In a classic example of ethical doubling, Premier John Horgan agreed grizzlies are struggling to survive habitat disruption and loss, and need our full protection. Once elected, he then promptly announced a trophy hunt ban with a meat hunt loophole. But very few Canadians hunt grizzlies and fewer still — if any — hunt the bears for meat. Now, of course, hunters seem to have developed an appetite, or so they claim.

A public consultation period has been announced from now through Nov. 2. But the consultation is about how to manage the meat hunt, not whether one should exist. A new poll shows what people asked for before the election and what they still want is a complete ban. Polls have found that 91 per cent of British Columbians and 84 per cent of Albertans, including those living in rural areas, oppose trophy hunting. It would be tough to come up with another issue in which 80 to 90 per cent of people agree.

A new report has told us that over half of Canada’s wildlife species are dying off at an alarming rate. Trophy hunting is unethical, unsupportable, and an easily eliminated threat. Canadians and tourists stand with the citizens of B.C. We demand and expect the NDP government to oppose the killing of any grizzly for any reason.

Judy Malone is a frequent flyer to B.C. and founder of Tourists Against Trophy Hunting, an international coalition of conservationists, ecologists, travellers, travel agents, writers and bloggers, organizations and individuals opposed to the senseless killing of endangered wildlife.

Very few Canadians hunt grizzlies and fewer still — if any — hunt the bears for meat. Now, of course, hunters seem to have developed an appetite, or so they claim.