Black Bear
Re-Introduction Proposal
April 10th 2005
Government Bounty (1796) Led to Black Bear
Extinction From Former Range:
Southern Ontario
Refusing to consider a recent proposal presented by John Kaplanis
president
of Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen's Alliance (NOSA), David Ramsey
Ontario
Minister of Natural Resources is citing urban expansion and lack of
habitat
as reasons for no black bears in former southern Ontario range. As
reported
in Jessica Smiths article March 7th
Atikocan Progress; the story stated that
"MNR spokesperson Jolata Kowalski however, is not ready to take the
proposal
seriously. "Mr. Kaplanis denies this but it sounds a bit like a
publicity
stunt to me," said Kowalski. "As the minister said in his interview with
CBC, there are no fences. The bears can come here if they want. The
habitat
just isn't right for them down here anymore. They need a lot of room.
Bears
range a large area and they don't have that here anymore."
Contrary to claims by (MNR). "Early historical accounts indicate that
the
black bear was a fairly common denizen of the forests at the time of
early
settlement and a threat to livestock of the early Elgin County settlers.
In
order to alleviate this situation, already experienced by settlers in
other
areas, the Government of Upper Canada instituted a bounty on bear in
1793.
It was rescinded in 1796 and re-instituted on a provincial basis in
1942. In
many areas bears carried a ten dollar bounty and were relentlessly
hunted
until none were to be found in the major agricultural settlements of
Ontario. " (Source, Mammals of Elgin County Ontario by William G.
Stewart
ISBN0-9691035-0-6 published in 1982, page 73 (Black bears).)
"Obviously Ramsey is misleading the public toward believing the "myth"
that
the bears have just recently disappeared from "Southern Ontario" said
Friends of Fur (FoF) president Eldon Hawton, a Government bounty (1793)
led
to the extinction of black bears from their former range in southern
Ontario. Nothing to do with urban expansion nor lack of habitat in the
late
1700's as claimed by Ramsey!"
Hawton went on to say. "Seems to me Government played a key role in
exterminating bears from Southern Ontario and now should be helping to
ensure that these animals get a chance to return unharmed; shot only as
a
last resort until a huntable population is established and regulated
bear
hunting seasons are duly allocated. Big game animals such as bears
wishing
to migrate/return to their former range must be protected by laws. The
government should be spending the Bear Wise (millions of our Ontario tax
dollars) educating the southern Ontario people with similar messages
used
to educate us Northerners . Bears returning to their former range should
not
be dubbed to be a nuisance and shot as fast as they appear on the
horizon as
news stories such as the following indicate."
This article appeared in The Kitchener-Waterloo
Record on July 31, 2004
Nuisance bears are moving south
Author: Bill Thompson
Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record
"If you think black bears were a nuisance
before, you ain't seen nothing
yet.
In fact, since my June 26 column on the
increase in nuisance bear calls in
Ontario, things have gotten worse. And I'm not just talking about the
traditional black bear haunts of Northern Ontario.
Case in point: on July 3 and 5, the
Guelph Mercury and The Record ran
stories about black bear sightings in the Guelph, Hamilton and Dundas
areas.
And a bear was shot at the edge of Hamilton in July.
That's not all. The Ministry of Natural
Resources and the Ontario Provincial
Police have reported bear sightings in Erin, Limestone, Flamborough,
Georgetown and even south of London. And I have heard reports of bear
sightings in Kitchener and Waterloo.
While most people think that sightings in
such non-traditional bear
territory are nothing short of amazing, they better get used to it. It's
going to get worse because, in short, as the bear population increases,
more
bears are moving south for food."
Northern Ontario people know that, more bears equal more problem bears,
fewer bears equal fewer problem bears and agree wholeheartedly with the
need
to reduce the excessive Northern bear population. Therefore it's time
government reintroduced black bears to their former range in southern
Ontario, relocation equals conservation. Residents of cottage/bear
country
agree with population management and the principle of "sustainable use"
of
bears through regulated hunting. MNR "Bear Wise" rhetoric should also be
conveyed to the people that are now having only a few problem bears as
is
the case in southern Ontario.
Full details of the plan are posted at www.friends-of-fur.org and we
invite
everyone to visit our Website and read-up on this extremely important
matter. We need your help to bring public pressure on the McGuinty
government to put the $900,000 currently misdirected toward further
cutting
off the bears limited food supply (fencing land-fill sites and bear
proof
garbage containers). Rather, the Government should put this money (our
tax
dollars) to much better use (relocation plan). Therefore please
encourage
your MPP to support this important, crucial and beneficial black bear
re-introduction proposal.
Please help us spread the word by forwarding a copy of this message to
your
contacts. Editors of newsletters and other publications this article is
available in jpg and pdf format if you would consider reproducing it as
your
contribution. It is very much appreciated. Email for your copy
eldon@friends-of-fur.org .
Thank you.
