MADRAVENSPEAK

Stanford University study:  Watching bears is Exponentially more profitable than killing them

“We found that the bear viewing is generating 12 times more in visitor spending than is bear hunting, and over 11 times more in direct revenue for the B.C. province,”  researcher, Martha Honey, Centre for Responsible Tourism, Stanford University, Washington D.C. (http://bearmatters.com/bear-watching-more-profitable-than-bear-hunting-says-study/ )

The Centre for Responsible Tourism is calling on the B.C. government to revise its hunting policies considering findings that viewing bears is exponentially more profitable than killing them:  “ A comparison of the number of jobs generated by each industry also points to the need for a policy change. Researchers found companies involved in bear viewing employed 510 people in 2012, while 11 people worked for guide outfitters in the same year.”

 “It seemed to us quite clear that the government is spending more to sort of manage and oversee hunting than it is earning from…