The animals need your voice and activism. Nova Scotia is seeking opinions through a survey on plans to open a spring bear hunt to start this May and June. The survey ends February 24th, 2024.
As we have sadly discovered, even when nursing females are exempted from the hunt, they too often get killed, leaving their cubs to die of starvation. Hunters eager to kill often don’t wait to be sure that their target is a male and not a female*.
To learn about the issue and complete the survey go to:
https://novascotia.ca/spring-bear-hunt-engagement/
We will be making a submission to the Ministry. As a Nova Scotia resident who opposes the proposed spring bear hunt, if you would like to add your name as a joint author on our submission, please email Lia at lia@animalalliance.ca.
The Issue
Black bears were the only big game species targeted in the spring when emerging from hibernation and when mature females would have nursing young. Although it is illegal to kill mother bears with very young cubs, it happens.
Ontario serves as a useful case study. According to a paper by Ken Morrison, a former wildlife specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, he acknowledges orphaning when he states, “70% of cubs orphaned during spring seasons died before one year of age” (Status of Black Bears Harvested in Wildlife Management Units 39, 41 and 42, Ken Morrison, Wildlife Specialist, OMNR, October 1996, pg 7).
On January 15, 1999, Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources the Honourable John Snobelen announced an end to the spring bear hunt. The Minister’s press release stated, “The government made the decision to move to end the spring bear hunt because it will not tolerate cubs being orphaned by hunters mistakenly shooting mother bears in the spring.”
Snobelen continued: “Many people have told us that the way the hunt is conducted and the inevitable loss of some cubs is unacceptable. We have reviewed current practices and considered modifications; but none provide assurance that young bears and their mothers would be protected as they emerge from their dens in the spring. Stopping the hunt is the only protection for the animals.”
Unfortunately, Ontario’s Liberal government announced the resumption of the spring bear hunt in November of 2013.
Facts about hunting bears in the spring:
- In certain areas of Ontario bears will be hunted 5.5 months of the year.
- Bears hunted in the spring are vulnerable and less able to defend themselves because of weight loss during hibernation. Most bears lose 15% to 30% of their body weight and females with newborn cubs may lose as much as 40%.
- Although it was illegal to kill a mother bear with cubs, the Minister’s own staff estimated that 274 bear cubs were orphaned in the spring as a result of the hunt. The newly introduced spring hunt also makes it illegal, but hunters have a great deal of trouble determining whether the bears they kill are male or female and whether the females are nursing mothers. This new hunt will orphan baby bears who will suffer a prolonged and agonizing death by starvation.
Facts about hunting bears over bait:
- Due to weight loss during hibernation, bears are ravenous when they emerge in the spring. Females who have dependent cubs and therefore have greater demands on their bodies are driven even harder to find food.
- Bait piles offer easy pickings at a time of year when food is in short supply and attract bears who are normally wary of human scent. So hunters know that they have to set out bait piles every day well in advance of the start of hunting season to acclimate the bears to human food and human scent.
*Female bears who frequent bait sites leave their cubs in the safety of “babysitting trees” as other bears may also be present.
