"Trophy hunters are turning British Columbias protected areas into graveyards for grizzlies, despite the provinces reputation as one of the last continental safe havens for the bears, according to new research by the David Suzuki Foundation."
At issue is the fact that Grizzlies are not afforded any special protection in British Columbia. The
Canadian Species at Risk registry shows British Columbia grizzlies are of "special concern," however, the government has not accorded the species a status and the bears are not identified as endangered. Grizzlies are
protected in the United States, where the population is estimated at 1,100 remaining bears. Dr. Chris Darimont, an ecologist with the University of California Santa Cruz said
"Of all species, grizzlies are among the most vulnerable to human impacts such as habitat destruction, pollution, climate change and overfishing of the salmon they feed on. Trophy hunting is further threatening British Columbias bears, which should be protected and not killed for sport."
The hunting season in British Columbia for grizzlies will open in May for a ten-day period.
Hunting Grizzlies for trophy is popular because of the
fearsome reputation the top predator have as "killers." British Columbia has designated three park areas as "no-hunt" zones, calling the sites
grizzly management areas. Loss of habitat due to human activity has impacted the population of grizzly bears the most,
shrinking the traditional North American habitat to primarily British Columbia. It only took 100 years in the United States to eradicate most of the grizzlies from 98% of their range.
