The hunt starts today: British Columbia parks are grizzly game reserves

Spring is here.  After a long hard winter, it is time to get out into the sun again, take a deep breath, stretch our legs and revel in the awakening of the earth. This is true whether you are a human or a bear.

But sadly, in one of the last best grizzly bear strongholds in North America, emerging from their winter hibernation could mean confronting trophy hunters instead.  Bears are killed by trophy hunters in British Columbia parks, sometimes still sleepy and groggy with hunger as they emerge from their dens.

In a report released today by the David Suzuki Foundation and NRDC, grizzly bear kills are documented in 60 Provincial parks, including on the B.C.- Alberta border near the Flathead River area of Montana, one of the last areas of significant grizzly bear populations in the United States.  Most people consider bears to be safe in parks but, as an indication of how scant protection is, the report documents kills in 47 of their 58 population groups across B.C.  The report is accompanied by a map showing bear kills and photos - both beautiful and beastly - of the grizzly and the hunt.

In the lower 48 states, grizzly bear hunting has been banned outright. This ban was enacted in response to our driving the grizzly to the edge of extinction. In 1975, when grizzlies were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, some 1500 bears remained in the lower 48, where there had been a previous population of 100,000 individuals. One of the first things that happened under these federal protections was a prohibition on grizzly bear hunting. A basic principle of first aid is to “stop the bleeding” and the decision to ban the hunt proved to be an essential emergency room measure.

With the help of the hunt ban, along with other efforts to reduce human-caused mortality and protect habitat, the population here is slowly growing. For example, Yellowstone’s grizzlies are now estimated at roughly 500-600 bears, up from as few as 200 in 1975. But the  future of Yellowstone and the other four  remaining grizzly populations in the lower 48 states  is  still very precarious due to other factors,  including habitat fragmentation, climate change, and often deadly confrontations with humans.

B.C. has the chance to do it right. By banning the trophy hunt, starting with provincial parks and protected areas, it can make a huge difference in the possibility of survival of this iconic species into the next century.  Since 88% of the death at human hands is due to the trophy hunt, a huge reversal in population decline could be achieved by better protecting the bear. This will not only protect the bears in B.C. but would help immensely to restore populations in the U.S., where 4 out of 5 of the existing isolated populations lie along the B.C. border.

In B.C. today, there are believed to be about 16,000 bears. Over 11,000 have been killed by trophy hunters since 1977. One of the highest years for kills  coincided with a B.C. government finding that populations were lower than anticipated. It also finds a pattern of kills exceeding hunt limits – set on these overestimated population counts. Today’s report goes into great detail about why these flawed estimates are and will likely continue to be detrimental to the bear unless the hunt is stopped.  

So what can be done?

Most importantly, you can let the British Columbia government know that the grizzly bear should be safe from trophy hunting in its parks and protected areas.

Premier of British Columbia

Hon. Gordon Campbell

E-mail: premier@gov.bc.ca

Phone: (250) 387-1715

In the longer run, comprehensive protected areas need to be established for the grizzly, where bear populations can flourish that are large and resilient enough to  survive rapidly changing conditions, including  impacts resulting from  climate change and ongoing habitat fragmentation and development. An influential group of bear scientists sent a letter today urging that significant land be set aside to protect the grizzly. This is especially important in the Flathead River area which straddles the U.S./B.C. border, where grizzly bears are still listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act on the U.S. side. .

And we  must work to stem the U.S. and international trade in bear parts, through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and by working directly with companies like eBay. If hunters were banned from bring home the coveted trophy parts, there would likely be a precipitous drop in kills.

You can help make spring safe again for the bears and really for us, because who can fully enjoy the spring knowing that these magnificent creatures – reminders of a past in which nature was larger than us – can be killed in the very parks that should be their sanctuaries?