Poison Bear

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Interesting commentary on a local (Thunder Bay Ontario) radio , phone in talk program . A fellow and his dad went bear hunting a few weeks ago and both scored . His bear had a tag in it's ear with a phone number , so he called the number . It was Ministry of Natural Resources in Toronto . They transfered his call back to the MNR office in Thunder Bay and a Conservation Officer picked up . Apparently the C.O. had darted and tranquilized the bear a few months earlier and transported it to a remote location . The C.O. told the fellow not to eat the meat as two chemicals are used . The first is to tranquilize and the second is an injection to waken the bear . The tranquilizer stays in the bears system for 3 months and the antidote stays for up to one year . Health Canada advises that both agents are toxic and not to be consumed .

The fellow asked the C.O. if every tranquilzed bear is tagged and the answer was no . About 1 in every 20 tranquilized bears are tagged . There is a law against letting game meat spoil but no way of knowing if the harvested bear is safe to consume or not . No way of knowing if your bear was tranquilized within the last year or not . 19 out of 20 don't get a tag .

I listened to this fellow but have no idea what the chemicals are so if anyone knows anything about this , please post .
 
That is an interesting problem. Large numbers of polar bears are drugged in the Churchill area. Some of this activity is done in support of the many studies being done on the animal, and depending on the year any number of bears are drugged for safety reasons. Polar Bears are a very political issue up here, so because photographers don't want bears marked they haven't been. This has lead to concerns in the Inuit communities to our north, concerning the safety of bear meat. In the case of bears in the Chuchill area, it would not be uncommon for a single bear to be drugged numerous times in a season.

At one time a drug called Sernylan (angel dust) was used, but this drug was dropped some years ago. I can't remember what drug is being used currently. There is a drug called M-99, but I have no idea as to it's recipe.
 
I found this in an internet search....looks like M-99 is the stuff still in use.




Bear
What tranquilizer is used to subdue a bear?




Probably a cocktail including Ketamine and Acepromazine. Possibly the powerful chemical Etorphine hydrochloride, (also known as M99) for large Grizzlies. These are common tranquilizers used to quickly subdue large animals, but there may be a specific compound that is best for bears. This is really a Veterinary question. One of the toughest things about being a Vet is the fact that you need to understand the physiology of so many species, and how they react to medications. For instance, Acepromazine is widely used for dog anesthesia but can be fatal to some breeds. Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen are commonly used to treat inflammation in humans, but can be deadly to dogs and cats.
 
Now THAT is some interesting info!!! I am going to contact the big-game biologist here in N.B., and ask the same questions... I am currently eating a 125 lb bear that a buddy shot. I ended up with the meat as he took a job out west and his family would not eat it... It's good meat if the bear is selected properly, i.e. no dump nearby etc...

I just sent this to DNR N.B.... I will let you guys know what they say...

Hello Mr. Brent Roy;

I found your email from the GNB website, I hope you can answer these questions for me, if not, please feel free to send them along to the appropriate person.

Firstly, I have been consuming a bear that was shot by a friend in the Gagetown training area. It was a 150 lb male bear shot this spring and yes, I have the proper meat permit etc which we recieved when the bear was registered at DNR Fredericton. I "ended up" with this meat as my friend shot the bear and then recieved a job offer out west. His family had no interest in the meat and I willingly accepted it for my consumption. I have had NO concerns about the safety of this meat UNTIL today... I read this from a canadian gun/hunting forum... This is cut and pasted for you to see, and I included the link for you.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39337

Start...
Interesting commentary on a local (Thunder Bay Ontario) radio , phone in talk program . A fellow and his dad went bear hunting a few weeks ago and both scored . His bear had a tag in it's ear with a phone number , so he called the number . It was Ministry of Natural Resources in Toronto . They transfered his call back to the MNR office in Thunder Bay and a Conservation Officer picked up . Apparently the C.O. had darted and tranquilized the bear a few months earlier and transported it to a remote location . The C.O. told the fellow not to eat the meat as two chemicals are used . The first is to tranquilize and the second is an injection to waken the bear . The tranquilizer stays in the bears system for 3 months and the antidote stays for up to one year . Health Canada advises that both agents are toxic and not to be consumed .

The fellow asked the C.O. if every tranquilzed bear is tagged and the answer was no . About 1 in every 20 tranquilized bears are tagged . There is a law against letting game meat spoil but no way of knowing if the harvested bear is safe to consume or not . No way of knowing if your bear was tranquilized within the last year or not . 19 out of 20 don't get a tag .

I listened to this fellow but have no idea what the chemicals are so if anyone knows anything about this , please post .
End...

So, my question(s) to you are,

"What are N.B. DNR's policies about darting and moving problem bears???"

"What drugs are used on these bears?"

"Are ALL these bears tagged so that members of the public are NOT unknowingly subjected to these drugs?"

I look forward to your reply, and I will not be consuming any more of this bear meat until I hear back from you on this matter.

Sincerely
Jason Quinn
 
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Excellent Jay and i'm looking forward to reading any reply you get . I may or may not believe it but keep us posted . Up here the C.O.'s and MNR biologist will tell you with a straight face that the arial spraying of herbicides and pesticides doesn't effect wildlife . If you go to anyplace that has been sprayed within the last year you're almost guaranteed to never see a deer or a moose but i guess that's just coincidence .
 
This thread is informative, important and interesting... I cannot wait to hear what the MNR says about this... The liability issues for the MNR in this situation are off the chart... they are screwed no matter what they say:eek:
 
This sounds very serous , and all bears should be painted after being drugged. If the information is correct and verified then something should be done, an alert posted , information provided at the place of purchase of a licence.
Great that you made this info avaiable to this forum.
 
I've done some searching and cannot find any Canadian information or anything from Health Canada but did find some interesting American info . I've found 5 tranquilizing agents and one recovery agent . 3 of the tranquilizing agents are for primates , non-human primates and cats so it looks like thier use on bears , moose and deer and elk is pretty much ruled out .

That leaves Carfentanil Citrate and Naltrexone Hydrochloride as the likely candidates . Both come with the exact same warning , " Do not use on domestic or food producing animals within 90 days of any hunting season".

I can't find anything on the antidote/recovery agent , Yohimbine Hydrochloride .

I don't know if the above mentioned chemicals are the correct ones but it looks like the FDA warning is the same as what the C.0. told the bear hunter . Doesn't sound like anything you want to eat .
 
Another candidate might be Rompun (Xylazine) with noradrenaline as the antidote. For a long time Rompun and M-99 were the ones of choice for large mammals in Ontario, but I'm a bit out of date on these now. Wouldn't be ketamine in a bear (or shouldn't be). In any case they've got a huge problem if they not tagging all drugged bears, at least if there's any chance they'll get taken in a legal hunt anytime soon...
 
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So assuming the meat is useless, does that mean that hunter is capable of harvesting another bear? Seeing the only place that bear is destined for is laying in front of the fire place.
 
Hey Guys! I got a reply from DNR, read below...

Cheers
Jay

Thank you for your reply Mr. Roy. This issue had me concerned about consuming bear meat, but with NB rarely using "chemical immobilization", I feel sure that the bear we have can be consumed by us.

Cheers and Thanks Again!
Sincerely
Jason Quinn

"Roy, Brent (DNR/MRN)" <Brent.Roy@gnb.ca> wrote:


________________________________

From: Craig, Kevin (DNR/MRN)
Sent: Mon 11/28/2005 11:58 AM
To: Roy, Brent (DNR/MRN)
Subject: RE: Bear Meat consumption in N.B., a few questions...


New Brunswick has a black bear population of more than 16,000 animals. The vast majority of nuisance bears are handled by the use of live-traps (large culvert-type traps) where the animals are transported and released without chemical immobilization. Immobilization is not used when other options are available. Sometimes there are uncommon urban situations where a bear is "trapped" up a tree or utility pole and it may be immobilized and transported for release. New Brunswick averages less than 5 black bear immobilizations per year.

New Brunswick has a current policy of not immobilizing big-game animals (deer, moose, bear) during or 1 week preceding a hunting season for that animal. The future policy (2006) is to mark all immobilized animals as unfit for human consumption. Other Canadian jurisdictions will be following similar protocols. Although these immobilizing chemicals are also used in the livestock industry, most have not been tested for their residual times in wildlife species, and due to the economics of testing, many immobilized wildlife species will be either destroyed or marked as unfit for human consumption.

New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources uses the following immobilizing chemicals to immobilize big-game animals when necessary:
ketamine hydrochloride
xylazine hydrochloride
yohimbine hydrochloride
telazol (TM) which is a combination of teletamine hydrochloride and zolazepam hydrochloride
XZT (TM) which is a combination of telazol and xylazine hydrochloride

Please be advised that when purchasing a hunting license, the Department of Natural Resources makes no guarantee about the edibility or quality of any animal harvested. Wildlife is free-ranging and may be subject to disease, injury and exposure to conditions and substances which may be harmful to the animal or persons consuming it. Hunters are advised to follow the following 4 general precautions to reduce risks from consuming wild meats:
1. Thoroughly cook all wild meat.
2. Practise hygienic animal handling precautions.
3. Use proper field dressing procedures.
4. Be aware of wildlife diseases.








________________________________
Sent: Fri 11/25/2005 3:03 PM
To: Roy, Brent (DNR/MRN)
Subject: Re: Bear Meat consumption in N.B., a few questions...


Mr. Roy, I am still awaiting a reply from you on this matter. Please contact me via email at your earliest convienance.

Sincerely
Jason Quinn
 
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