Ontario - Just the
Beginning
Am I pissed off ? You bet.
History
It all happened on Friday, January 15th while I was on the
phone speaking with Bowhunter Magazine's Dr. Dave Samuel.
Dave and I were talking about a different matter when he ended
the conversation asking if there was any truth that Ontario had
just outlawed Spring Bear?
"No way, if that happened I would have heard about it
by a dozen people already" I exclaimed. I asked him to hang
on while I checked the Bowsite Conferences for any word - nothing.
"Must be just some rumor floating around."
No sooner had I got off the phone and checked my e-mail and
there they were, three messages from frantic Ontario residents
asking, "have you heard what just happened"?
Immediately I got on the phone and started calling my contacts
in Canada, only one person had heard of it, the others were in
shock. I was instructed to check the Ontario MNR Website and
low and behold, the press release had just been posted. Spring
Bear in Ontario was to be outlawed!
OK, get a grip, there must be some scientific justification
for this, after all this decision was made by the Minister of
Natural Resources - a person who is in command of scientific
game management for the Province. A virus perhaps, declining
bear numbers, some reason that we hunters would not like but
would understand and support to protect the well being of bears
in the Province. Yet the communication mentioned no scientific
justification, which was odd. And from what I had heard, bear
numbers were growing, not shrinking.
Then the phone call that I had been waiting for came...the
inside scoop.
My fears had been realized, the animal rights fanatics had
their first prize, Minister Snobelen. In one afternoon and without
any prior notification he simply ended the spring bear hunt -
citing social reasons of dead sows and orphaned cubs. Total BS.
- it is already a crime to shoot a sow with cubs and even if
it were a problem, the solution is not to cancel the spring bear
season entirely - rather strengthen existing laws and increase
education. The plot grew deeper and slimier when additional information
of a wealthy business owner in the province using his power and
funds to influence game law decisions. Simply incredible.
What to do?
Now we were faced with a difficult decision. What do we do?
What are our options?
Chalking this up as a 'learning experience' was dangerous.
It sets a bad example for us and other provinces. Having hordes
of people contact the minister would be a start, but it was unlikely
to change his mind. This decision had been calculated and he
was ready for the bear hunters to scream bloody murder. No, we
needed to do something that would accomplish the following:
- Fire up business interests in Ontario. An economic justification
is reason enough to put heat on game managers that close seasons
to protect the species. But a negative economic impact
coupled with the fact that there was no biological justification
for closing spring bear is outrageous. Anyone who had anything
to lose monetarily was likely to place enormous pressure on the
Ministry and the Ontario Govt. as a whole.
- Send a clear message to the other Provinces, namely Manitoba
(whom was rumored to being pressured as well by similar interests)
that we would fight this one to the end. If we rolled over on
the situation in Ontario, the other Provinces would likely follow
suit.
- Change tactics, become a voracious fighter in a new arena.
Find out where it hurts and hit them there. In this case, it
was the outfitter and tourism industry. A paradox if ever there
was one. We had no chance of boycotting Canada products since
sportsmen are such a small minority within the U.S. The only
impact we could achieve would be by actively promoting a boycott
of hunting and fishing trips to Ontario. Of which I had one scheduled
as well.
Boycott.
So with consultation from others in Ontario, and sources here
in the U.S. we decided to support a boycott of Ontario hunting
and fishing opportunities so long as this spring bear decision
remained. A calculated risk for sure, the anti hunting groups
are expecting this to mean a crippled hunting and fishing business
in Ontario. I believe it will do the exact opposite.
If we do not support this boycott, and stick to it, then Ontario
wildlife management is doomed. The decision to boycott will send
a clear message to Toronto where they are nervous of losing U.S.
tourist dollars to other Canada Provinces. The harsh reality
is that we may have to give up Ontario to protect hunting interests
in Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and others. I believe that
the economic threats are great enough to reverse this decision.
Now it is up to you to help spread the word.
Already we have quite a growing list of supporters. Other
bowhunting websites have joined our campaign including Bowhunting.net and
Edersbow.com. Ted
Nugent has also embraced this boycott by getting major press
coverage on the issue. In just two days, you and other dedicated
bowhunting visitors generated 57,735
e-mails to the Minister, various tourism agencies
and business interests in the Province. This is only the beginning.
They say one man can not make a difference, yet one wealthy
businessman in Ontario can be traced to the origins of this decision.
It's time to take back our season and help our brothers in Ontario.
Are you up to it?
We need you to:
- Get others to support this boycott
- Comment by Fax and Letter to the MNR by Feb. 20. See
details Here
- Print off our Boycott Poster
and hang it up at your archery range, pro shop, or club
- Contact
the Ministry and let them know you will no longer
hunt or fish in Ontario
- Tell every one of your hunting and fishing buddies, clubs
and shops that Ontario has chosen to side with anti-hunters and
they are not to be supported
- Contact your favorite magazines and organizations and
get them to support the boycott
We have done it before, we can do it again. This time the stakes
are higher and we are working outside our political arena. For
this reason we will be more relentless in our pursuit of winning
back this season.
