Ministry hungers for more spring bear hunt data

Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry says any decision to expand the spring bear hunt requires the collection of more data.

Bill Mauro was a backbencher when put forward a private member's bill last year to reinstate the hunt.

He says analysis of the pilot hunt this past spring is still being done.

Hunters had to file a compulsory report of what they saw and harvested in the bush.

Mauro said the main goal of the project is managing the bear population.

"What we do know is that, when the hunt was cancelled in 1999, there was data, I think, for the first four to six years after that showed a decline in number of animals being harvested, he said.

So I think we can extrapolate from that there are certainly more bears in the bush. As well, depending on who you talk to, anecdotally, a number of people would certainly support the idea there are more bears out there."

He noted there is a significant public safety issue associated with increasing bear numbers, he said. So that's what drives the policy.

Mauro saidtabulation of the results from this year's hunt should start next month.

The second year of the spring hunt pilot project will go ahead in May 2015, he noted.

"Live trapping doesn't work [and the] bear wise program is still in place. The trapping and relocation of nuisance bears has not been found to be effective. Often times they really do believe the bear will just return to where it was caught.