With a bit of organisation and the help of a nice lady in Vancouver this piece ran on Global TV's prime time news on Friday. Brutal.
Monday, 12 October 2009
Friday, 9 October 2009
BEAR MAN OF KAMCHATKA CONDEMNS BC GRIZZLY HUNT, CO-LAUNCHES GROUP TO TRY AND HALT THE TROPHY HUNT
Nelson, BC – Charlie Russell, the iconic grizzly bear behavioral expert who has worked around the world with threatened grizzly populations, has called for an end to the grizzly hunt in BC.
Joining two other veterans from different walks of life – Julius Strauss, a former long-serving war correspondent, and Fred Easton, a founder member of Greenpeace – he said that it was time to introduce a new management style for grizzly bears.
Russell was speaking in Nelson, BC, ahead of a showing of his documentary The Edge of Eden. His message is all the more resonant as he comes from a family of ranchers and hunters.
He said that the time for trophy hunting has passed and that government officials and biologists should change their way of managing the species.
Russell said: "I spent the better part of my life treating bears as friends and it works."
"If Parks people and bear managers could start talking about them in a different way, we would get rid of the fear."
Russell said that the demonization of grizzly bears by hunters only fed into the cycle of fear and violence that prevented better coexistence with humans.
Russell, who famously worked with orphaned cubs in Kamchatka in Russia's Far East, was joined by Strauss and Easton in calling for an end to the hunt.
The three announced they have formed a pressure group, www.stopthegrizzlyhunt.org to try and persuade the BC provincial government to drop the grizzly hunt.
Strauss, who worked in some of the world's most dangerous countries before emigrating to Canada several years ago to set up an eco-tourism operation, said: "It's time that the BC government woke up and smelled the coffee.
"The rest of the world already thinks we are Neanderthals for allowing the legal hunt of an iconic and threatened species and the polls show that the vast majority of BC residents agree with them."
"Our reputation is being sullied for the sake of a tiny minority that appears to have the ear of government."
Easton, who as a young man famously took the footage of Russian whalers in the Pacific as part of the international Save the Whale campaign, said: "All three of us have come together from different walks of life because BC needs to redefine its moral compass."
"We can't strut around pretending we are the Best Place on Earth and Beautiful BC and then cynically allow the slaughter of some of the very animals that make us so special."
The latest call for an end to the grizzly hunt comes amid growing pressure on the BC government from conservationists and ordinary residents ahead of the Winter Olympics.
In a poll last year, 78 percent of BC residents said that they considered the hunt unethical.
On the BC coast recent reports from eco-tourism operators have suggested that the number of bears is down dramatically after two years of poor salmon runs.
A recent survey in Alberta found there were only 581 grizzly bears left outside the national parks.
The BC Ministry of Environment, which obtains substantial programme funding from hunters and from hunting organizations, maintains that the population is still healthy.
But a recent study of grizzly numbers in the Selkirk and Purcell mountains suggested the government has over-estimated the number of grizzly bears.
After pressure from local residents, the Kootenay branch of the Ministry of Environment recently put on hold a plan to extend the grizzly hunt by 10 days each year.
Around 55 grizzly bears are legally killed each year in the Kootenays and taken as a trophy. The number for the whole of BC is around 300.
The Ministry of Environment requires that hunters take the skull and part of the penis or a testicle for a male and part of the teat or mammary gland for a female to prove the animal's sex. About one third of the bears shot are females.
Eco-tourism operators offering bear-viewing holidays to tourists bring in many times the income from non-resident hunters who come to BC to kill grizzly bears as trophies.
Joining two other veterans from different walks of life – Julius Strauss, a former long-serving war correspondent, and Fred Easton, a founder member of Greenpeace – he said that it was time to introduce a new management style for grizzly bears.
Russell was speaking in Nelson, BC, ahead of a showing of his documentary The Edge of Eden. His message is all the more resonant as he comes from a family of ranchers and hunters.
He said that the time for trophy hunting has passed and that government officials and biologists should change their way of managing the species.
Russell said: "I spent the better part of my life treating bears as friends and it works."
"If Parks people and bear managers could start talking about them in a different way, we would get rid of the fear."
Russell said that the demonization of grizzly bears by hunters only fed into the cycle of fear and violence that prevented better coexistence with humans.
Russell, who famously worked with orphaned cubs in Kamchatka in Russia's Far East, was joined by Strauss and Easton in calling for an end to the hunt.
The three announced they have formed a pressure group, www.stopthegrizzlyhunt.org to try and persuade the BC provincial government to drop the grizzly hunt.
Strauss, who worked in some of the world's most dangerous countries before emigrating to Canada several years ago to set up an eco-tourism operation, said: "It's time that the BC government woke up and smelled the coffee.
"The rest of the world already thinks we are Neanderthals for allowing the legal hunt of an iconic and threatened species and the polls show that the vast majority of BC residents agree with them."
"Our reputation is being sullied for the sake of a tiny minority that appears to have the ear of government."
Easton, who as a young man famously took the footage of Russian whalers in the Pacific as part of the international Save the Whale campaign, said: "All three of us have come together from different walks of life because BC needs to redefine its moral compass."
"We can't strut around pretending we are the Best Place on Earth and Beautiful BC and then cynically allow the slaughter of some of the very animals that make us so special."
The latest call for an end to the grizzly hunt comes amid growing pressure on the BC government from conservationists and ordinary residents ahead of the Winter Olympics.
In a poll last year, 78 percent of BC residents said that they considered the hunt unethical.
On the BC coast recent reports from eco-tourism operators have suggested that the number of bears is down dramatically after two years of poor salmon runs.
A recent survey in Alberta found there were only 581 grizzly bears left outside the national parks.
The BC Ministry of Environment, which obtains substantial programme funding from hunters and from hunting organizations, maintains that the population is still healthy.
But a recent study of grizzly numbers in the Selkirk and Purcell mountains suggested the government has over-estimated the number of grizzly bears.
After pressure from local residents, the Kootenay branch of the Ministry of Environment recently put on hold a plan to extend the grizzly hunt by 10 days each year.
Around 55 grizzly bears are legally killed each year in the Kootenays and taken as a trophy. The number for the whole of BC is around 300.
The Ministry of Environment requires that hunters take the skull and part of the penis or a testicle for a male and part of the teat or mammary gland for a female to prove the animal's sex. About one third of the bears shot are females.
Eco-tourism operators offering bear-viewing holidays to tourists bring in many times the income from non-resident hunters who come to BC to kill grizzly bears as trophies.
Monday, 5 October 2009
Write to Stetski
After last week's announcement that the Ministry of Environment would scrap the extension to the grizzly hunt in the Kootenays, they are already back-pedalling.
In a radio interview Wayne Stetski, the regional manager, said that he had only seen five or six emails that opposed the grizzly hunt extension and that it could be brought back.
We all know that there are more than five or six local residents that oppose the hunting extension. More than 200 of you signed a petition against the extension this summer.
But if we don't want to lose this small victory, you must all write to Mr. Stetski and congratulate him for dropping the extension. You can add, if you wish, that you are against the grizzly hunt altogether.
The BC Wildlife Federation, which represents the hunters, is a powerful lobby in this province. Already they are trying to say that those of us who oppose the grizzly hunt are radicals who oppose all hunting and fishing.
It's not true but it makes their members less likely to criticise the grizzly hunt. So, if you feel as strongly about this as we do, write to Mr Stetski telling him there are more than five or six of us. It doesn't have to be long - just a line will do - but please write.
His email is: wayne.stetski@gov.bc.ca
And when you have done that please forward this to your friends and ask them to do the same.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Ministry back down on plans to extend grizzly hunt after locals protest
NEWS RELEASE
www.stopthegrizzlyhunt.org
27 Sept 2009
West Kootenays – The BC Ministry of Environment has withdrawn plans to extend the grizzly hunt in the Kootenays after protests from local residents.
The regional manager announced that plans for the extension will be put on hold until other options have been looked at and wider consultation carried out.
The announcement came after local citizens met with Garth Mowat, a senior biologist with the Ministry of Environment, in Nelson on Sept 22nd.
Mowat, who had initiated the idea of a longer hunt after consultations with hunter groups on Aug 22nd, refused a plea by those opposing the hunt for a delay pending wider consultation.
But he was apparently overruled by his regional manager Wayne Stetski. Late on Sept 25th, a spokesperson for the Ministry announced that the extension, which would have extended the hunt by 10 days until mid June and led to more grizzly bears being shot, at least in the short term, was to be put on hold.
The latest move came amid growing anger among local residents over the continuing hunting of grizzly bears in the West Kootenays.
Earlier this year hundreds signed a petition calling for an end to the grizzly hunt in Area D, a small electoral district on Kootenay Lake.
Between 55 and 70 grizzly bears are legally shot by hunters each year in the Kootenays.
Opponents of the hunt dispute the methodology used by the Ministry of Environment in assessing population numbers and are angry that only hunters representatives are consulted when hunting policies are drawn up.
Julius Strauss, a former war correspondent who now runs a small eco-lodge in the West Kootenays submitted an application to the Ministry of Environment in June asking that two West Kootenay creeks that have been heavily hunted in recent years be closed to further grizzly hunting.
Tony Hamilton, the large carnivore specialist with the Ministry of Environment in Victoria, pledged to make a decision on the matter but has yet to do so.
www.stopthegrizzlyhunt.org
27 Sept 2009
West Kootenays – The BC Ministry of Environment has withdrawn plans to extend the grizzly hunt in the Kootenays after protests from local residents.
The regional manager announced that plans for the extension will be put on hold until other options have been looked at and wider consultation carried out.
The announcement came after local citizens met with Garth Mowat, a senior biologist with the Ministry of Environment, in Nelson on Sept 22nd.
Mowat, who had initiated the idea of a longer hunt after consultations with hunter groups on Aug 22nd, refused a plea by those opposing the hunt for a delay pending wider consultation.
But he was apparently overruled by his regional manager Wayne Stetski. Late on Sept 25th, a spokesperson for the Ministry announced that the extension, which would have extended the hunt by 10 days until mid June and led to more grizzly bears being shot, at least in the short term, was to be put on hold.
The latest move came amid growing anger among local residents over the continuing hunting of grizzly bears in the West Kootenays.
Earlier this year hundreds signed a petition calling for an end to the grizzly hunt in Area D, a small electoral district on Kootenay Lake.
Between 55 and 70 grizzly bears are legally shot by hunters each year in the Kootenays.
Opponents of the hunt dispute the methodology used by the Ministry of Environment in assessing population numbers and are angry that only hunters representatives are consulted when hunting policies are drawn up.
Julius Strauss, a former war correspondent who now runs a small eco-lodge in the West Kootenays submitted an application to the Ministry of Environment in June asking that two West Kootenay creeks that have been heavily hunted in recent years be closed to further grizzly hunting.
Tony Hamilton, the large carnivore specialist with the Ministry of Environment in Victoria, pledged to make a decision on the matter but has yet to do so.
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Plans for grizzly hunt extension going ahead
Fascinating meeting with Garth Mowat yesterday, the official who wants to extend the Kootenay Grizzly hunt, at his offices in Nelson.
It turns out that he has almost no scientific basis for extending the hunt - he argued by turns that an extension would decrease the number of female bears killed, then that it would increase the number of female bears killed, and then that the number of females killed is not the issue.
At one stage, he said: "This is not science." Instead he described his contention that a longer hunt would be good for grizzly bears as a "hunch."
The other thing that became clear is that while the Ministry of Environment invites consultation for its policies on grizzly hunting, only hunters and outfitters are given a hearing. Incredible.
Despite that, plans to extend the grizzly hunt in the Kootenays are going ahead. By Garth Mowat's own admission that will lead to a longer hunting season and more grizzlies being killed (for at least five years.)
Great. At a time when there is pressure to close the grizzly hunt on the coast, we are increasing it in the Kootenays. If you're not thrilled by this write to Garth Mowat. His email is: garth.mowat@gov.bc.ca
Even better, try his boss Wayne Stetski - wayne.stetski@gov.bc.ca
Perhaps he will be more understanding in recognising that the vast majority of residents don't want a grizzly hunt at all, let alone an extended one.
On a positive note, above is a photo of a grizzly bear that survived this spring's hunt in our area and is back again this year.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Charlie Russell in Nelson
One for the diary: Charlie Russell, the iconic bear expert who spent several years working with grizzly bears in Kamchatka in Russia, will be showing his outstanding documentary East of Eden at the Capitol Theatre in Nelson on October 8th at 7.00pm. He will be available for questions after the movie.
On another note: Garth Mowat of the Ministry of Environment in Nelson has finally agreed to meet those of us who are opposed to his plan to extend the Kootenay grizzly hunt, on Sept 22nd.
He maintains that the hunting extension will be good for grizzly conservation.
We have consulted three eminent grizzly bear biologists: one concludes that all hunting is bad for grizzly bear conservation, one that the extension of the hunt will harm grizzly conservation, and one is not sure. Scientific opinion seems stacked against Mr Mowat but we will listen carefully to what he has to say.
On another note: Garth Mowat of the Ministry of Environment in Nelson has finally agreed to meet those of us who are opposed to his plan to extend the Kootenay grizzly hunt, on Sept 22nd.
He maintains that the hunting extension will be good for grizzly conservation.
We have consulted three eminent grizzly bear biologists: one concludes that all hunting is bad for grizzly bear conservation, one that the extension of the hunt will harm grizzly conservation, and one is not sure. Scientific opinion seems stacked against Mr Mowat but we will listen carefully to what he has to say.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
A move to extend the hunt in the Kootenays
Far from the public eye, the local BC Ministry of Environment office has been planning to extend the grizzly hunt. It currently finishes on June 5th and the plan is to extend it until the end of June.
At a meeting on Aug 22nd, representatives of the grizzly hunters met with the Ministry of Environment and, it seems, endorsed the new plan.
When the ministry was asked to explain the plan to those opposed to the grizzly hunt they said that it was all being done in the name of grizzly conservation.
We have asked for a meeting with the Ministry officials responsible (we'll keep names out of this so it doesn't get too personal) but so far he's being a little coy with the dates he could meet.
Will keep you all posted.
At a meeting on Aug 22nd, representatives of the grizzly hunters met with the Ministry of Environment and, it seems, endorsed the new plan.
When the ministry was asked to explain the plan to those opposed to the grizzly hunt they said that it was all being done in the name of grizzly conservation.
We have asked for a meeting with the Ministry officials responsible (we'll keep names out of this so it doesn't get too personal) but so far he's being a little coy with the dates he could meet.
Will keep you all posted.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Stopping the Grizzly Hunt
Welcome to the first blog entry for www.stopthegrizzlyhunt.org. We are a group of individuals dedicated to stopping the grizzly bear hunt in British Columbia, which is still sanctioned by the provincial government.
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