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Grizzly trophy hunting will continue almost unabated in B.C. despite an election pledge by the Liberal government to end the unpopular sport in the Great Bear Rainforest.
Steve Thomson, minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, said in an interview Wednesday that on average about 250 grizzlies are killed annually by hunters across the province — with about 11 of those, or less than five per cent, shot within the Great Bear Rainforest. (Research by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation suggests 26 annual kills is closer to the historic average.)
Thomson said the Liberal promise to ban grizzly hunting within the rainforest recognizes the uniqueness of the coastal region and concerns of Coastal First Nations, and that hunting of grizzlies would continue elsewhere in B.C. based on good science and sustainable populations. The province estimates there are about 15,000 grizzlies in B.C., almost 10 per cent of them in the Great Bear Rainforest.
The Liberal platform states: “Today’s B.C. Liberals will work with the Coastal First Nations towards the elimination of the grizzly-bear hunt in the Great Bear Rainforest, continuing with the science-based approach to the bear hunt elsewhere in the province.”
Thomson said further multi-party talks are required before a ban can be implemented, perhaps through an order-in-council or Wildlife Act regulation.
Any decision to end the grizzly trophy hunt in the Great Bear Rainforest would have to involve existing commercial guide-outfitters, who cater to affluent foreign hunters, and the 50,000-member B.C. Wildlife Federation, which represents resident hunters.
One likely scenario is for First Nations to buy-out those guide-outfitters currently in place in the Great Bear Rainforest, with help from philanthropic foundations.
Thomson added he believes that the B.C. Wildlife Federation is on-board with the planned ban. “I think they understand the rationale for doing this and that they’ll accept it within the Great Bear Rainforest.”
The federation said it won’t be commenting on political platforms during the election.
An official with Coastal First Nations said he is glad to see the Liberal election position, but isn’t sold until he sees the ban actually happen.
“I don’t feel comfortable until we have something in writing,” said Doug Neasloss, chief of the Kitasoo/Xaixais band council in remote Klemtu. “I’m always a bit skeptical. Election time is obviously when people make a lot of promises. If we can hold their feet to the fire and make sure we end it … There’s a lot of conversations that have to happen.”
He added: “I’m glad to see their policy. Obviously, we’re not going anywhere. We’re committed to ending it.”
The NDP has promised to ban the trophy hunt provincewide if elected, while leaving open the possibility for hunts where the grizzly meat is consumed. One way to regulate such hunts may be to require hunters to turn over those parts of the grizzly that might be used for trophies, including the head and pelt.
The Green party would make it a rule that anyone who kills a grizzly bear would have to cart the meat out to their home, an initiative that would especially discourage hunts by foreigners.
The Commercial Bear Viewing Association said in a news release that its members want an end to the trophy hunting of grizzlies throughout the province. Association spokesman Julius Strauss said bear-viewing has become a major ecotourism revenue generator, bringing in about 10 times more than grizzly-bear hunting.
“Some of our members operate in the Great Bear Rainforest and for them this ban, if and when it happens, could be good news,” Strauss said. “But many bear-viewing companies are in other areas of the province. From a B.C. grizzly bear’s perspective the chance that this policy change will save you from a trophy hunter’s bullet is very small.”
The Great Bear Rainforest covers an area of about 6.4 million hectares from about Quadra Island north to the border with southeastern Alaska.
Others members of Coastal First Nations include the Wuikinuxv, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Gitga’at, Metlakatla, Old Massett, Skidegate and Council of the Haida Nation.
Other First Nations such as the Nisga’a in the Nass Valley wish to continue grizzly hunting.
In 2015, an Insights West online poll found that 91 per cent of British Columbians oppose sport trophy hunting.
lpynn@postmedia.com
