Ask A CO: On black bear hides

Q: Is it legal to sell a tanned black bear hide if there is proof that it was purchased from an auction in the US?

Ben Gignac, Chatham

A: Black bear hides have to meet three criteria:

1. it was lawfully bought or sold at an auction in the US;

2. it is tanned (or otherwise treated, plucked or manufactured into a commercial product); and

3. the sale of the tanned skin would be legal in the jurisdiction from which the bear originated.

In this scenario, the second criterion has been met; it is then up to the seller to prove that the other two criteria have also been met.

Generally, it is legal to sell the tanned skins of black bear if the hide was previously lawfully bought or sold. Hides of black bear that have been hunted and then sold before being tanned may be sold again and again. However, a hunter who kills a black bear and has the hide tanned cannot then sell the tanned skin as it has not previously been lawfully bought or sold.

ANSWERS BY: David Critchlow, Provincial Enforcement Specialist, MNR