The Canadian province of Alberta has quietly reversed a two-decade ban on hunting grizzly bears, in what conservations described as a \u201cslap in the face\u201d amid continuing debate over the future of the threatened species.<\/p>\n
Alberta first banned the hunting of grizzly bears in 2006 after the population of the species, which once reached as many as 9,000 bears, collapsed due to generations of overhunting, agriculture development and urbanization.<\/p>\n
In 2002, provincial authorities estimated there were approximately 850 bears living in provincial lands and nearly 200 in national parks. The bears were listed as a threatened species by Alberta\u2019s government in 2010, and a recent count found a population of between 856 and 973.<\/p>\n
But on 17 June, the province quietly amended the Wildlife Act to once more permit the hunting of individuals deemed to be \u201cproblem bears\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019m writing this, but the controversial Alberta grizzly bear hunt is back on,\u201d wildlife photographer John Marriott posted on Facebook, alongside a link to the provincial parliamentary record. \u201cA f**king THREATENED species is now about to be hunted again.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement, the right-leaning provincial government defended the move as a way of \u201cprotect[ing] Albertans\u201d, citing 62 maulings and eight deaths from bear attacks since 2005. A spokesperson for the minister also cited 897 counts of livestock losses since 2016, which has \u201cgreatly impacted Alberta farmers\u201d, but it was unclear if all of those losses were attributable to grizzly bears.<\/p>\n
Fatal bear attacks are exceedingly rare and it is often the bear that comes out worse following interactions with humans. One study showed that the University of Alberta estimates 21 grizzlies were killed in collisions with trains in 2000 in Banff national park while 75 deaths were caused by vehicle collisions in the broader Bow valley region of Alberta.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just using fear to push their agenda,\u201d said Nicholas Scapillati, head of the non-profit Grizzly Bear Foundation. \u201cNo one was consulted in this decision \u2013 not the biologists, not the independent conservation groups, not the First Nations. Were the government\u2019s own scientists consulted? It\u2019s an absolute slap in the face to the province\u2019s grizzly recovery plan. We know how to lower the risk of dangerous interactions with bears \u2013 and it\u2019s not going out and killing them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the province\u2019s revised rules, the ministry of forestry and parks will create a pool of eligible individuals who may receive authorization to hunt a \u201cproblem\u201d grizzly involved in a human-bear conflict or the killing of livestock.<\/p>\n
If selected to kill a grizzly, the hunter must arrive at the location of the bear within 24 hours of notification to obtain the authorization. The hunter can only then pursue the bear if it is an area where hunting is already permitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to make sense of this plan because it\u2019s so full of holes,\u201d said Scapillati. \u201cYou\u2019re turning hunters into hitmen. It\u2019s a stain on the hunting community, and you\u2019re attracting an unscrupulous group of people who would want to kill a bear this way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scapillati said the fact that the decision was \u201cquietly made when no one was looking\u201d reflects the ongoing battle conservation groups have to protect species \u2013 even when they are listed as threatened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s just no respect being shown, no respect for the bears, for the efforts of the conservationists that do the work on coexistence and grizzly bear recovery,\u201d he said. \u201cThis decision is a warning, not just to Albertans but to those anywhere that a species should be protected: those species are not safe.\u201d<\/p>\n