Big game outfitters in the Yukon are disappointed with a move to ban trophy hunting of grizzly bears…
By Cheryl Kawaja, CBC News
<http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/plan-to-end-grizzly-trophy-h
unting-in-bc-announced-1.4247060>
…in British Columbia and hope a similar
ban is not adopted in the territory.
“It will probably put some pressure on the Yukon to start limiting the
grizzly hunt,” said Neil Cosco, an outfitter who guides clients north of
Teslin.
B.C.’s Natural Resources Minister Doug Donaldson said the ban, which comes
into effect at the end of November, is not about numbers but rather reflects
changing social norms.
About 250 grizzlies are killed annually by hunters in B.C., a number
Donaldson said is “sustainable” for the population estimated at 15,000
bears, but he said public opinion on the practice has turned.
‘Unfortunate political move’
Cosco calls it an unfortunate political move.
“Grizzly bears… become a political topic, so people look at grizzly bears
in isolation where it should be part of holistic game management, where if
you’re managing the prey species you need to manage the predators,” he said.
Outfitter Don Lind, who guides in central Yukon, also questions the B.C.
ban.
“I don’t see how a new government could get in there and assess the
situation and make a decision that rapidly, other than it’s a political
decision.”
According to the Yukon Outfitters Association, about 80 grizzly bears are
hunted annually in the Yukon, and although it’s one of the more popular
species for visiting hunters, it comes after Dall sheep and moose.
Yukon NDP leader Liz Hanson hopes the ban in B.C. on trophy hunting grizzly
bears will lead the territorial government to take a closer look at grizzly
bear management.
Yukon NDP leader Liz Hanson says the territorial government should look at
the Yukon grizzly hunting situation and how B.C.’s decision might affect the
territory. (CBC)
“My initial reaction is, what are we going to do in the Yukon?” Hanson said.
“The issue of how we treat our grizzly bear population is not something
that’s new here and my concern was – when I saw this ban in British Columbia
– that there would be increased pressure on big game outfitting by the big
game outfitting industry in the Yukon.”
“We don’t even know in the Yukon for sure how many grizzlies there are. If
you look at the government’s website they talk about maybe six or seven
thousand. They do say that there are some concerns,” she said.
Hanson wants to see the government step up research and make informed
decisions about the bear population.
“I would hope that they would now use this as a spur to work with the Fish
and Wildlife Management Board to get the data, and take action if necessary.
And, if that means that there is ultimately a ban, then maybe that’s where
we have to go,” she said.
Yukon Environment Minister Pauline Frost was unavailable for comment
Tuesday.
But the department noted in a statement that it’s already working on a plan
“related to grizzly bear conservation and species management.”
It says that plan will provide “direction for addressing the range of values
and issues related to conservation and management, in this case for grizzly
bears, across Yukon.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-grizzly-trophy-ban-british-columbi
a-1.4248778
Exposing the Big Game 
Reblogged this on The Extinction Chronicles.
I hope it goes through the whole country.
Agree…
…and crosses over to the U.S. in Alaska.
“is not about numbers but rather reflects changing social norms.” I hope that it stays that way. The battle for the wildlife is lost in US. These are very sad times indeed! I don’t know what has happened in this country and why, but the apathy towards animal welfare, is not limited just to red states like Idaho and Wyoming etc. It is everywhere, even in the most liberal states the overwhelming majority of people don’t give a thought about animal welfare!
I found this blog about trappers in Idaho two days ago http://animalcrueltyidaho.org/. Since reading it I cannot stop thinking about it. What has happened to the people in this country? Is it the excesses of the liberals that has embittered and empowered the far right conservatives? When it comes to cruelty this country ranks equal to the cruelest countries in the world! What has happened to the people in this country?
Good question.
The liberals in this country are fighting 200 year old battles over removing statues, removing certain words from official announcements, gender rights to choose public bathroom, all idiotic symbolic bullshit. But they are as apathetic as the Idaho trapper when it comes to the suffering of millions of animals. My cousins are both staunch trump lovers. In my endless hope that I may make a difference, I had a friendly debate with my cousin about our choices. She told me about the excesses of the liberals, and I told her about the cruelties of Republicans to animals. I asked her how she could support such people with such absolute lack of compassion towards animals. Her reply was, we had to make some sacrifices. Of course, she is a Republican, and sacrificing animals comes easy to her. What about the freaking liberals, what is their excuse?