(updated Nov. 27)
Sudbury city council is the latest municipal government to opt-in to the province’s 2-year bear management pilot program. It passed the motion last night at its council meeting.
The program was announced by the Ministry of Natural Resources on Nov.14. It will allow for a limited spring bear hunt to take place from May 1 to June 15 in 2014 and 2015 in selected wildlife management units.
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North Bay city councillors unanimously passed the motion to opt-in on Nov. 25. The cities of Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie have also resolved to opt-in to the pilot project.
“We are happy the province is doing a staged approach. Hopefully the science weighs out and they can continue to do a spring bear hunt across Northern Ontario,” said North Bay councillor Mac Bain. “In North Bay, this year to date, there have been over 20 interactions with bears and humans.”
Just wanted to note that Sudbury city council also passed the motion unanimously. The only reservations were the concerns that this would lead to more firearm discharges in residential neighbourhoods. There seems to be a great deal of confusion amongst the general public at large that seem to think that this new resolution means free reign on the bears in springtime wherever they may be. The fact is that this only applies to the WMUs adjacent to the pilot sites and of course, does not change or supplant existing provincial hunting or firearm regulations.