Conservationists in Canada back down as grizzly bear hunting ban is lifted July 11, 2024

Canada has partially reversed a nearly two-decade ban on hunting grizzly bears in Alberta (KAREN BLEIER)

By AFP -Agence France Presse

Conservationists in Canada back down as grizzly bear hunting ban is lifted

A decision to partially reverse a nearly two-decade ban on hunting grizzly bears in Alberta, Canada, has angered environmentalists, with one group saying Wednesday it feared the impact on the species.

Hunting of mammals, listed as endangered in 2010 by the western province of Alberta, has been banned for 18 years, which has led to a growth in the grizzly bear population.

But there has also been conflict between bears and humans, according to the Alberta authorities.

The number of grizzlies has increased from 800 to more than 1,150 today, according to provincial authorities, and this has caused them to move into more populated rural areas.

"Hunting is not an acceptable management approach for an endangered species," said Devon Earl of the Alberta Wilderness Association.

"Grizzly bears have a very slow reproduction rate, and trophy hunting could undo all the recovery of the last decade," he added.

The provincial government last month quietly decided to allow the hunting of individual bears deemed "problematic".

Authorities say 104 black or grizzly bear attacks were recorded from 2000 to 2021.

However, Earl said that other "science-based approaches" could help reduce conflicts with wildlife.

She cited an example in southern Alberta that worked "by protecting attractants on farmland and putting up electric fences (...) to prevent bears from being attracted to people's property in the first place."

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