Our last grizzlies

The guys I've hunted with for many years figured out 20-30 years ago that our hunting opportunities in BC were under attack and we all figured that the grizzly hunt would be the first casualty. Accordingly over 10-15 years any of our group that wanted one ( about 1/3 of us) took one, we considered one to be enough. We told our next generation to get one while you can, within a few years this opportunity will be gone. Bingo! No surprise, the NDP and Greens have been rumbling at this for many years, we knew if they ever formed government again our hunting would change drastically. So grizzly hunting is nearly done, what's next? Maybe black bears or the iconic wolf? And of course sheep and goats are 'trophy' species aren't they? Don't forget our poor endangered caribou.
Vast areas of this province are now under the control of various Indian bands and 'nations', you can only hunt these areas as they allow, regardless of what licence or limited entry permit you have. Expect this to expand and to include fishing rights, especially for salmon. With an NDP government in Victoria and a Liberal government in Ottawa hellbent on 'reconciliation' the magnificent hunting heritage we have enjoyed in this bounteous province will be under attack like never before and I expect to see most of it gone within another 10-20 years. Gloomy prediction I know. Get your griz while you can if it's important to you, take lots of pictures, and yes they are fine eating if not feeding on fish, carrion or seafood.
 
Sorry to see this happen to you. You got the short end of the stick on this stupid hunt closure. Who know what they'll implement next?

Did you at least get a chance to put your titanium rig to work on this last hunt?
 
This new reality actually hurts. There's no other way to describe it.

The unnecessary end to a hunt that was completely sustainable & actually benefited the species.

The unnecessary economic hardship, imposed by an ignorant provincial government, also comes into play.

As someone who would like to take a grizzly at some point, I am pained at the special interest groups being placated to by those on the left.

It is disgusting.

Regards
Jay
 
hoytcanon said:
The 59th went down...

What we are loosing, is the PR battle with the non-hunting public... the hunting community had better wake up soon to the nuances of this new "social media" world... there is much at stake.

Ardent has a tremendous hunting region with a wealth of wildlife opportunities beyond grizzlies, but it surely is spectacular grizzly country. It was a pleasure to share a camp together and take part in the culmination of a dream for a few fellow sportspersons...
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I feel for you guys. We went through and continue to serve as the whipping boys of the animal rights opportunists with our annual seal hunt. You can't discount the power of "charismatic mega fauna", the hatred of the animal rights nut jobs/zealots and the stupidity of the Internet Social Justice Warriors. Between the mid-1970s and 1986, the Whitecoat harvest was ended, along with large vessel hunts at the front. Instead sealers were limited to open boats and long liners that are ill-suited to dealing with heavy ice conditions and have next to no ice-breaking capabilities. Late winter in the middle of the North Atlantic, surrounded by pack ice, and caught by a late season Nor' Easter and it's a recipe for disaster. Read "Death on the Ice".

We jumped through all the hoops in hopes of satisfying them. Appeasement doesn't work. Despite now being the most heavily regulated and observed marine mammal harvest on the planet, despite changes to harvest methods that now border on the ridiculous/dangerous, and despite massive overpopulation of the species, the animal rights loonies continue to treat seal hunting like a fund raising ATM where they roll out cute Disney-like photos of baby Whitecoat that haven't been hunted in more than 30 years and old video showing them being killed and the soccer moms and latte-quafing hipsters can't hand their money over fast enough.

Markets overseas continued to shrink to the point that actually prosecuting the hunt didn't make economic sense. Even reduced quotas go unfilled these days as the harp, hood and Grey seal populations continue to grow essentially unchecked. I can see DFO ordered culls in the near future. They've already been forced to do so in the Gulf and around Sable Island with the Greys.

Nobody online or in the animal rights movement camps ever consider the consequences of their actions. Seals prey on ground fish species like threatened north Atlantic cod, snow crab and Atlantic Salmon. A population boom in one causes an equal and opposite reaction in the other. As food stocks grow more scarce we now regularly see harp seals 100km or more up river from the nearest coastline. They decimate pooled and spawning salmon and brook trout. In the process spreading parasites like seal worms (round worm family) to valuable fish stocks. In the meantime, overcrowding on traditional whelping ice packs see tens of thousands of pups crushed or drowned each spring. A complete waste of a renewable resource. With natality rates far outstripping natural mortality rates, a collapse of the population is coming, either via contagion or starvation.

Most commercial sealers now leave their boats tied up. Just for nostalgia, I retained a recreational license allowing me to take five seals a year. I wonder what my ancestors would make of things. My dad went to the ice aboard the Arctic Endeavor under Skipper Jim Gillette back in the 60s/70s. My grandfathers and great-grandfathers did the same aboard vessels that are legend here in Newfoundland like Florizel, Eagle and Newfoundland. As much of an arrogant bastard as he was, my first cousin is the great-grandson of Captain Abram Keane. Iron men and wooden ships wasn't just a saying. Guys like Keane were considered the next thing to gods back in the day. Now all of that history and cultural touchstone are fading away.

I hope you guys have better luck defending your bear hunt.
 
Took me a while to figure out what direction the NDP/Greens were headed with this new regulation pertaining to the Grizzly hunt. The light bulb went on finally. By not outright banning the hunt but making it unpalatable they do not have to compensate the Outfitters for loss of a hunting/guiding right. A right a guide (e.g. Ardent) paid for up front when they bought their territory. Horgan is a political hack who will cater to the Vancouver crowd, Weaver is an academic who knows nothing of the real world having spent his life on campus. Clark, as mentioned, was politically naive in not stepping down. As it was the NDP only has a minority government and actually got less seats that Clark. One more seat and we have a Clark government. Sad tale.
 
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Mik123 said:
Sorry to see this happen to you. You got the short end of the stick on this stupid hunt closure. Who know what they'll implement next?

Did you at least get a chance to put your titanium rig to work on this last hunt?
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Only carried plastic this last hunt, my gun choices have been getting lighter and lighter, and less and less classy.

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Bland said:
Took me a while to figure out what direction the NDP/Greens were headed with this new regulation pertaining to the Grizzley hunt. The light bulb went on finally. By not outright banning the hunt but making it unpalatable they do not have to compensate the Outfitters for loss of a hunting/guiding right. A right a guide (e.g. Ardent) paid for up front when they bought their territory. Horgan is a political hack who will cater to the Vancouver crowd, Weaver is an academic who knows nothing of the real world having spent his life on campus. Clark, as mentioned, was politically naive in not stepping down. As it was the NDP only has a minority government and actually got less seats that Clark. One more seat and we have a Clark government. Sad tale.
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Hard to argue with that, it also portrays them as the friend of the "true hunter". They can claim they're not against hunting and happily cut and ban, we also received large quota cuts on another species that is booming population wise, which I was forewarned of by an environmental group. So they were involved in the dialog.
 
Gatehouse said:
That's a really raw deal Ardent.

The BC Libs made a huge error in keeping Christy Clark on as their leader, even more so than the CPC keeping Harper on as the leader. Leaders all have expiry dates, and they should recognize them.

And while only a small percentage of BC residents are hunters, they also have family and friends, and the Libs siding with GOABC over resident hunters when they re-opened the allocation process didn't help their cause with that demographic. I know lots of resident hunters that voted NDP this time because of this- or just didn't vote. Did it make a difference? Hard to say, but this election was so close, even one extra Lib MLA might have turned the tides on the grizzly hunt.

Christy was never super popular, had they ditched her a year prior to the election things may have been different. I really worry about the direction of our province these days.

As it is, the new grizzly hunt regulation proposal is a ridiculous one. You can still hunt grizzlies in some parts of BC (But not in the so-called "Great Bear Rainforest") but you are supposed to only retrieve the meat, and not the hide or skull. How stupid is that? A meat retention regulation might make a bit of sense, but from a conservation standpoint,the new regs are a joke.

PS Nice pics, the first one looks like a pretty darn good bear! :)
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Well said.
 
Ardent said:
Word presently is you'll have to turn in the skin and skull for destruction or cultural repurposing at a compulsory inspection, to ensure no aspect of "trophy hunting" (starts Nov 30th), and only be able to take the meat home. The coast / Great Bear Rainforest is to become a Grizzly sanctuary in its entirety. And indeed Grizzly skulls are pretty neat, my biggest on a full sized Rubbermaid lid.

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I should come and hunt one with you after the ban and turn in the smallest fragments of skull (complete skull but essentially pulverized) and chunks of hide so small they look like they had gone through a cheese grater. It's there and it's complete. Have fun repurposing it. I have a great many extremely well-made knives. Hmm...
 
Beautiful pictures as usual Angus. You've certainly had lots of experiences with the Grizz hunt, its too bad its come to an end. I believe in the science behind wildlife conservation and our Government never used any. They just listen to city dwellers, who don't have a clue about conservation. Lets hope the NDP/ Green party get voted out, I'm sure they will. Its time for us hunters to be heard, before they take more away from us. Remember " the squeaky wheel gets the grease".
 
...that sucks for you

...black bear population seems to be soaring in our area...fewer guided hunters the past several years

...a blight of bears on them all!
 
Agreed Don, and BC's coast has two strikes to get out of the way, they made the entire coast, anywhere with tags at least, a Grizzly conservancy. Can you imagine the uproar with the native bands opposed to the hunt and Vancouver if they attempted to "reopen" the "closed" Grizzly conservancy of the Great Bear Rainforest for "trophy" hunters? The coastal / salmon bear hunting is done, and the inland is almost done but my be reinstated at some point. I see a return of Grizzly hunting on the BC coast as extremely unlikely, the eco tour side won.
 
Ardent said:
Agreed Don, and BC's coast has two strikes to get out of the way, they made the entire coast, anywhere with tags at least, a Grizzly conservancy. Can you imagine the uproar with the native bands opposed to the hunt and Vancouver if they attempted to "reopen" the "closed" Grizzly conservancy of the Central Mid-coast Timber Supply Area for "trophy" hunters? The coastal / salmon bear hunting is done, and the inland is almost done but my be reinstated at some point. I see a return of Grizzly hunting on the BC coast as extremely unlikely, the eco tour side won.
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Fixed it to it's pre Ecogreeny marketing name................
 
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