The hunting of grizzly bears in British Columbia has long been under fire by opponents who believe that the chief motivation of killing grizzly bears in the province has little to do with their meat.
While this remains to be proven, current regulations are making that argument easier to make for those on the opposing side of the grizzly hunt in Canada’s western-most province. Shooting a black bear or say, a moose in British Columbia requires hunters to remove all edible portions of the animal, but the same regulation does not apply to grizzly bears.
Despite the claims that British Columbia is a haven for grizzly trophy hunters, Jesse Zeman of the B.C. Wildlife Federation believes that could not be further from the truth. A 2009 study in which Zeman was involved in showed that only roughly two percent of resident limited-entry hunters listed trophy hunting as their prime motivation for shooting wild game.
“We’ve supported the retention of grizzly bear meat,” Zeman, told the Vancouver Sun. “Sustainability, that’s the unifying theme, the big picture we’re pushing. How do we make sure we have grizzlies … 80 years from now?”
Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson also released a statement targeted at those who believe the grizzly bear population is not effectively managed in the province. In it he stated that the province “manages all wildlife, including grizzly bears, on the principle of conservation first”.
In a province with an estimated population of 15,000 bears, less than two percent of those bears, or 272 bears on average, have been killed by licensed hunters over the past five years.
A decision is expected to be made later in the year regarding the implementation of the newly proposed regulation. The province’s auditor general’s office plans to investigate grizzly bear management in the province over the coming months as well.
