B.C. Grizzly Hunt Bolstered By Spurious Science

The Huffington Post

Posted: 02/11/2014

Scientists from the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Simon Fraser University, and University of Victoria recently authored the first peer-reviewed study of British Columbia’s controversial grizzly bear management. Conclusions from the article, titled “Confronting Uncertainty in Wildlife Management: Performance of Grizzly Bear Management” and published online in the international journal PLOS ONE, cast serious doubt regarding the B.C. government’s persistent claim that “sound science” is used to manage the trophy hunt.

Using the province’s kill data to determine if B.C.’s grizzly management meets its own objectives (maintaining all human-caused kills below pre-determined limits), the scientists found that in the past decade total kills commonly exceeded limits determined by provincial policy. These “overkills” occurred at least once in half the populations open to hunting between 2001-2011. Troublingly, these overkills were particularly common for adult females, the reproductive powerhouses of the species…

To read the full article please visit The Huffington Post website.

You can help

Raincoast’s in-house scientists, collaborating graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors make us unique among conservation groups. We work with First Nations, academic institutions, government, and other NGOs to build support and inform decisions that protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on them. We conduct ethically applied, process-oriented, and hypothesis-driven research that has immediate and relevant utility for conservation deliberations and the collective body of scientific knowledge.

We investigate to understand coastal species and processes. We inform by bringing science to decision-makers and communities. We inspire action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats.