Bears

The Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen's Alliance says more cubs are being orphaned or killed now because of fatal nuisance bear encounters than before the cancellation of the spring bear hunt.

The group says that Ministry of Natural Resources statistics collected before and after the hunt's cancellation show the annualharvest of bears has been reduced by nearly a third.

Prior to the cancellation of the spring bear hunt, hunters killed an average of 68-hundred bears a year.

But during the next two five-year periods following the hunt's cancellation, hunters shot an average of 48-hundred and 56-hundred bears, respectively.

The ministry has blamed the upswing in bear-human encounters on a lack of summer food, and on people attracting bears into their yards with garbage, greasy barbecue grills and full bird feeders.