Black Bears....Bears....Bear Management

Ok, people this is the way I see it; the Ministry of Natural Resources must be marching to the tune of tree huggers. I have worked in North Western BC with Black bears, and Grizzlies. The only person who would for one instant think that the current bear management policy for Ontario is a good one , has shit for brains. It will only be a matter of time; short time before some politicians son, wife, daughter, or other relative gets mauled, killed and possibly eatin before Bear Management Policy in this Province changes. There are more bears in the province of Ontario than the Ministry realizes, will acknowledge or really cares. We own 500 acres and have for over 30 years; in that time we have never seen a bear; well until the last ten...........now there presence is a common occurrence. In 5 square miles last year 13 bears were harvested during the bear hunt. This didn't include the bears that were passed up, or that were not counted as all tags had been filled. Now lets talk about Bears in southern Ontario.....deep south.........Oshawa, Pickering, Omemee (looking in the school windows during school) oh yeh.............perfect! Now onto the Ministry......lets' hire Bear Management Technicians for 5 month's a year to "educate" people how to "Live With" and "Accept" bears in their backyards. Give your flippin head a shake.............A friend of mine lived down a dead end road........his children were 5 & 10 , the school board decided to save money and required his children to walk down a road 1.5 kilometres to catch the school bus. All in the name of saving the school board money....$800,000 in total for making kids in the country walk to catch a bus that used to pick them up at the door. This decision was made with full knowledge that a bear had killed a steer the year before just down the road from his house (confirmed by the Ministry of Natural Resources) and after being informed that a sow and two cubs had been spotted on the road recently. The School Boards response was to send a Conservation Officer to explain to the children if they saw a bear to back away, and gave them a sticker to put on their lunch box........(I love it) their parents weren't home when the CO showed up. I volunteered to go to the School Board to speak as an expert witness, as I have witnessed both Grizzlies and Black Bears in bluff charges and follow through charges......its not something a child would understand............nor would they survive............even with pepper spray.............which unless under the perfect conditions and with a very calm spirit...........isn't "Worth a Shit!" The only way to defend yourself is with a 12 gauge shotgun with slugs or a 44 magnum (my preferred choice) and know how to defend yourself; know the signs of an aggressive bear and be prepared. We were certified to carry when I worked as a Forest Officer in North Western BC and had to pass a course yearly. When I returned to Ontario in 2002 I guided and baited 61 bear Baits a day in Temagami, so don't think that I have no experience.......believe me, I've seen it all. Bear Management in Ontario is way out of wack..........the Ministry is going down a road that will result in not only people getting hurt, killed or maimed, but is also contributing to increased killings of calf moose ............it needs serious study, by people who know what they're talking about, not knee jerk reactions to anti's or non hunters. Rant all you want it's fact..........if you don't like it..........I hope you never run into an aggressive bear......and if you do...you better be prepared........and cell phones don't necessarily work everywhere..............you may be on your own!