Aug 31, 2015

                                          THE ANNUAL HAIDA GWAII BEAR HUNT 

       Between 1983 and 2013, approximately 1200 Black bears were shot on Haida Gwaii by trophy hunters from around the world. The Haida had always opposed the annual hunt, but the Province of British Columbia, which simply claimed sovereignty over the islands, ignored their protests for thirty years and issued licenses to kill the bears. 

 Most of the hunters were guided to the docile and fearless bears by two outfitters approved by the Province. One permit was held by the owners of the Tlell River Lodge on Graham Island. The other by Pacific Bear Outfitters (PBO). Despite widespread public revulsion for trophy hunting, and research indicating growth opportunities in eco-tourism activities — such as bear viewing in their natural habitat — license owners continued to offer provincially approved “recreational bear hunting,” aka. “trophy hunting” tags. 

 No words were minced on licensee websites. Bear hunters traveling to Haida Gwaii, one site assured, “have a 100% opportunity with about 90% success at taking home a trophy bear.” 

 “It’s a world class animal,” another boasted, “you get a chance of killing a real exceptional old animal.” 

 PBO’s fee for the first bear shot was $9850 (an additional bear could be taken for $4250). But the site stipulated that "trophy fees are paid on all animals shot— whether killed or wounded." 

 All the bears killed or wounded on Haida Gwaii were a rare subspecies (ursus americanus Carlottae), found nowhere else in the world. They are also the largest Black Bear on the planet. UA Carlottae is considered a "keystone species" on the islands because the bears transport salmon remains into surrounding forests of Haida Gwaii, where they fertilize the trees. 

 In 1995, the Council of the Haida Nation passed a resolution at their Annual House of Assembly calling for an end to bear hunting on the Islands. The Province ignored it. Then in February 2004, at a Community Land Planning Forum, sponsored by the Haida Nation and the Province, the President of the Haida Nation restated the Nation’s position:

 “A just-completed economic study on grizzly bear hunting on the central coast shows that guide/outfitters could make more money viewing bears than they can shooting them. The Tlell River Lodge is in a good position to move from hunting to viewing. We ask you to please support the owners of the bear licenses on the Islands in making a transition from recreational hunting to sustainable tourism. Please join our initiative to protect the Haida Gwaii Black bear by sharing your feelings on recreational bear hunting. Send an email from the list below asking the Tlell River Lodge to explore sustainable and locally supported activities.” 

 Thousands of letters and signatures poured into the Lodge and the Province. On September 9, 2013 the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations closed the black bear hunting season on Haida Gwaii … forever. 

 The former Tlell River Hunting Lodge, now owned and operated by the Haida Nation and renamed Haida House, is the most popular eco-tourism resort on the islands. The Haida do not regard their purchase of the Lodge as a commercial venture. 

“We’re investing in life,” was their stated motive.