Canada NewsWire August 23, 1999, Monday

Ministry of Natural Resources Now Admits Ontario's Black Bear Population is 50% Bigger than Previously Estimated

DATELINE: TORONTO, Aug. 23

On January 15th 1999 when the Ministry of Natural Resources announced their intention to cancel Ontario's spring bear hunt the black bear population number quoted by Ministry officials and subsequently by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) was 75,000 -100,000 animals.

In a report published in February, less than 30 days after the hasty and ill-considered January 15th cancellation, MNR quietly published new black bear population estimates.

This new MNR black bear research indicates that Ontario's herd is now thought to number between 127,000 -152,000 animals (MNR - 51257, McLaren. M. 1999)

The post-cancellation estimate is a full 50% higher than the estimates MNR released to the public, to the Premier, and to the PC caucus when Ministry officials argued that losing the spring hunt's culling effect would not cause the herd to expand dangerously and threaten public safety in rural areas and provincial parks.

"In terms of developing public policy and making regulatory change, keeping in mind that governments are first and foremost stewards of the public's physical safety, this is gross negligence as far as I am concerned," stated Thomas Pigeon, Chairman of the Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA). "The post-cancellation report was compiled between 1994 and 1997, but only released in February of this year. Why release it after the cancellation of the spring hunt? Why not before?"

Pigeon added that rumors had been swirling throughout the outdoor community for months that MNR had updated research on black bear population which showed that our herd, already acknowledged to be one of the biggest in North America, was underestimated in the pre-cancellation official numbers by a wide margin.

Concerned about their children's safety because of the jump in nuisance bear activity, thousands of people in northern Ontario are demanding that the spring bear hunt be brought back. Sault Ste. Marie alone has reported a ten-fold increase in nuisance bear activity this summer.

Marty Quinn, Vice Chairman of COHA added that "animal rights activist groups, in order to get at the real facts, routinely coerce our government into doing full blown environmental assessments prior to even the most minor regulatory changes. It's beyond me how MNR could shut down the spring bear hunt in Ontario, having done everything they could to cause the public and the media to believe our black bear population was substantially smaller than what the government's actual research proved was the case."

Both men added that they hope the residents of Ontario's rural communities threatened by nuisance bears and the hundreds of thousands of cottagers throughout the province ask the government to reopen the file on this issue.

The Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the heritage rights of Canadians to hunt, fish, and trap, while promoting the responsible use of sustainable and renewable fish, game, & fur bearer resources.

For further information: Marty Quinn, Vice Chairman - Tel: (705) 695-2783