On January 15, 1999, after massive effort by my colleagues and me, the then Conservative government of Ontario announced an end to the hunting of black bears in the province, in the spring, although in some regions hunting could occur as early as late summer. There was no decrease in the number of bears (out of a population size not accurately known) that could be hunted, but the end to the spring hunt was welcomed because bear hunters often failed to detect the differences between mother bears (who where protected) with dependent cubs, and legally hunted male or non-maternal female bears, leaving dependent cubs to die in the bush. John Snobelen made the decision “…to move to end the spring bear hunt because [our government] will not tolerate cubs…
Exposing the Big Game 