http://www.huntingreport.com/w...te.cfm?articleid=744



Ontario Proposes Spring Black Bear Hunt

(posted November 09, 2015)

Ontario may reopen spring bear hunting after a 15-year closure. On October 30, the Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry jointly announced a proposal to expand the current experimental spring black bear hunt from eight Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) to all 88 WMUs across the province. More important to the traveling hunter, the new proposal will also allow nonresidents to hunt spring bears. The current program only allows residents to hunt in the spring.

Before the ban, about 20,000 bear hunters bought licenses, harvesting some 4,000 bears per year. By 2014, bear conflicts had risen so high that the government was forced to allow hunting on a limited basis. Only 847 hunters participated in 2014 with only 193 bears taken in the eight northern Ontario units open to spring hunting.

If approved, the pilot project will run each year through 2020. The season is slated to run 6 weeks in May and June. While everything is not finalized (public comments are still being accepted), the new proposed season should provide some great hunting opportunities and allow the outfitting business once again to bring needed jobs and income to rural areas.

It's likely that the first spring hunt following 15 years of closure will be some of the best bear hunting ever seen in Ontario, where a 300-pound bear is a reasonable trophy and 400- to 500-pounders are possible. If the hunt works as intended, bear densities may never be this high again.

We are contacting outfitters in Ontario asking about their plans and expectations for the re-opened spring hunt. Look for more details when the hunt is finalized. - Mike Bodenchuk, Editor-at-Large

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quote:

If approved, the pilot project will run each year through 2020

Good news

But why to they need a pilot program when they have decades of pre ban experience to call a pond.

Stupidity of the antis cause all these problems.

You can always count on the stupidity of the antis, but it was a purely political decision at the time of the cancellation, due to an upcoming election that was a coin-toss.

You'll note that there has been no outcry from the antis about this hunt being reinstated. However, it would be cynical of me to note that it's the Liberal gov't reinstating the hunt, where it was the Conservative gov't that the antis targetted in order to force the cancellation in the first place.

What is the status of the 2016 spring bear hunt for non-Canadians.

Apparently it will be open to non-residents: http://www.thestar.com/news/gt...ated-in-ontario.html

http://www.huntingreport.com/w...te.cfm?articleid=759



Ontario Approves Spring Bear Hunt

(posted February 19, 2016)

Just moments ago we received word that Ontario has indeed approved a province-wide spring bear season for the first time in 15 years. The season will run May 1 through June 15 and nonresidents will be able to hunt with an outfitter. This is a "pilot" program and will remain in force through 2020.

We had warned you that this spring season was likely in the offing and had urged interested subscribers to begin exploring outfitter options. We currently have seven positive reports on Ontario bear hunts in our database and an additional seven reports on hunts there for other species.

We'll be taking a closer look at Ontario options in our April issue

Here is full the text of the press release announcing the new season:

Ontario is expanding the spring bear hunting pilot to gather further information to assess concerns voiced by northern communities about human-bear conflicts, and to support economic growth and tourism in the north.

The spring bear hunt pilot expansion will include:
Extending the pilot by an additional five years, through 2020
All 88 wildlife management units that currently have a fall bear hunt
Nonresident hunters.
Under the expanded pilot, it will still be illegal to hunt bear cubs and females with cubs. Anyone convicted of this offence could face a fine of up to $25,000 and up to one year imprisonment. In most cases, each licensed hunter will only be allowed to hunt one bear in each calendar year.

Baiting of bears during all bear hunting seasons will be regulated to help address public safety concerns, including:
Bait must not be placed within 500 metres of a residence unless written permission is obtained from the residence's owner
Bait must not be placed within 500 metres of a public building
Bait must not be placed within 200 metres of a right of way for public vehicle traffic or a marked public recreational trail.
Quick Facts
Ontario is home to a healthy and sustainable black bear population with up to 105,000 black bears living in the province.
The spring bear hunt pilot will take place from May 1 through June 15, starting in 2016 and ending in 2020.
Currently across Canada, each province and territory with black bears has a spring and fall bear hunt except Nova Scotia, which only has a fall hunt.
For 2014 and 2015, Ontario held a two-year bear management pilot program in eight wildlife management units, all of which reported high levels of human-bear conflict. The hunt was open to Ontario residents from May 1 to June 15. Communities in and around these units include Timmins, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay.


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