You can mark the Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen’s Alliance in favour of permanently bringing the spring bear hunt back.
Executive Director John Kaplanis tells us cementing the hunt would help the region’s tourism.
“The spring bear hunt catered to non-resident tourism and brought in millions of dollars for the tourism industry, especially camps and outfitters in the north.”
In 2014, the ministry implemented a 2-year black bear spring season pilot from May 1st to June 15th in eight Wildlife Management Units in northern Ontario.
In 2016, the ministry extended the black bear spring season pilot for an additional 5-years and expanded it to include all Wildlife Management Units where there was an open season for black bear in the fall. The spring season pilot will end on June 15th, 2020.
The provincial government is expected to bring the hunt back following a public consultation period that wraps up on February 18th. You can provide your comments by clicking on this LINK.
