Media Request

[Husky7mm]

There you go, the series is being written anyway, time to share the qualified view from the other side of the fence. Good time to not act like a stupid redneck also.

[Hanrahan]

I posted this on the first post but thought to update here as well.

*****Edited by Elkhound.*******

To set the record straight I have personally contacted the media company this reporter works for and confirmed this reporter is who they say they are. I also wanted to include a quote from an email between the reporter and myself. I personally think we should give the reporter a chance to write an article based on facts and not false truths and emotion. I know other members have sent the reporter PMs and introductions have been made. Put the tinfoil hats away this time people.

Quote from Reporter

"I completely understand why hunters are hesitant to talk to the press about this, they are often taken out of context and unfairly demonized. That is the weakness in most other grizzly coverage that I am trying to overcome.


There have been a few comments about needing to do my research, etc. - which is fair as they don’t know anything about me or my work - but I thought you might like a little assurance. I have been working on this series for three months, I’ve spent a lot of time out in the field and interviewed dozens of Ministers, MLAs, guides, Chiefs, scientists, environmentalists, and a few former Premiers. The focus of my series is not on hunters, though I recognize they have a valuable voice in this debate.


The focus is on the government management and motivation behind sustaining the grizzly hunt. I recognize this issue has been covered a lot, but it is usually done very superficially. The kind of quick stories that lead to hunters being slotted in to the enemy role, which doesn’t add anything productive to the debate. After doing all this research I think that if people disapprove of the hunt they’re anger should be directed at the government and their questionable management of the commercial hunting industry, not local hunters. Hence why I started the thread in the hopes of humanizing hunter’s perspective on this... I come from a family of hunters and know at the heart of most hunters there is a deep love and respect for animals and their environment. Maybe if I highlight this for the public we can move beyond oversimplified blame in the grizzly debate.


Anyways, there have been a few really thoughtful responses which is great, Im happy to include them in my series. "

Well, it sounds legit. Might be time for a few of the wordsmiths on here who Grizzly hunt to join in the conversation. I personally don't bear hunt, so you're not going to get much out of me.

[Wentrot]

Damn-we as hunters always bitch about not being heard and here we get a great opportunity and people act like a bunch of clowns. If I had a clue about the subject at hand id be all over it. Some of you need to give your heads a shake.

[835]

try stop by the BCWF meeting as suggested.

the big things i have picked up on, by reading stuff from guys in the know is.
Public forget about the population controle aspect. Grizz kill moose, alot of them. Sure you can say it is a cycle pred high one time prey high another but man has already screwed that one up with logging, mineing and just us living. Fact is man needs to help nature manage.

Secondly, the population can handle it, bears are not going extinct. The government asesses a popultaion and decides if it can be hunted. This does not effect the population, and in some cases it can help the population. look at the leh draw statistics and see how many tags actually come from one area http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife....html#Synopsis .. look at page 14 each area is listed and the number of tags in that area... now, remember not all those tags will get filled..... so how many square miles is in a given area? how many filled tags? how many bears total? how is the access? alot of the big tag count areas are "Under prescribed" this means no one is putting in for them, the area is too tough to get into... so
Area 7-02 has 43 tags with odds of 0.8:1 that means .8 people put in for each tag...... that means if you put in for this draw it is a sure thing you will get a tag damned near.... why is that? because the area is impossible this equals safe bears... This is where i get lost, find the harvest statistics.. what they really are.. not what David Suzuki Tells you they are,, he does not use good data, he makes it up because he is adjenda driven...... Hunters are population driven.

But largely, people think if they hink it is not right then others can not do it. Heart and opinion are not shared by all. Fact is if the population can handle it, why cant I?... and in some cases like i said it needs to be done.

Society today does not think the same as it did, they want their meat in a package the dont want to do the work. I am not that way, i hope i can teach my Daughter Emma this way. I kill an animal, it never knows what is coming. It is not run through a slaughter house. It lives a life and i then take it. I keep my meat as clean as i can and i cut 90% of it my self. When i put a steak in front of you it has a story i know and can tell you, it is clean and lean... Bears are eaten, alot of people do eat Grizz.. but some dont. And the meat that does get left behind does not get wasted.... and a few hundred moose dont die that season.

Nature can no longer maintain itself, even if we all stepped out of it, and some times the ignorance ( i mean this honestly in the truth of the word ) we hunters have to deal with is tireing. Come out and see what i do, what happens out in the forest. And listen to why. After that you can make your decision...



lol guess i did have something to say!
Good day,


I pm'd her this.... maybe im wrong but i tried....
maybe someone smarter then me will help..

[Opinionated Ol Phart]

My suggestion would be to talk to the BC Wildlife Federation if you want to know what hunters contribute to conservation... more specifically, the excellent work the Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association has done while working with the Provincial biologists on elk relocation on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. This year alone, the Courtenay Club has bought two GPS elk tracking collars for the Ministry to aid them in accessing the success or relocated elk to the west side of the Island. (Over $5K that the bios didnt have in their budget) We are a lot more than the " Hook and Bullet " guys moniker that we have been labeled with in the past.

[r106]

I personally have never hunted Grizzly and am limited to my knowledge on the topic, but I don't have an issue with the hunt. As long as the numbers can sustain the hunt then why not. Having a rule to take the meat will do nothing to stop the Anti Grizzly hunting community, It will only limit them attacking our motive and using the term "Trophy hunter" to sway public opinion. Just because there is no law to take the meat doesn't mean everyone doesn't.

Plus sides to hunting Griz, Population control, creating a fear of humans, and by targeting old males you can increase the survival rate of cubs.

[pete_k]

How do we know what magazine or paper to buy or website to visit to see the report?
I'd be interested in reading it.

[reporter]

I'll be sure to post a link back here when it is published. Should be out end of January.
Thanks for all the thoughtful comments!

[Husky7mm]

Many disconnected urbanites can not believe that here in the twentieth century we are still allowing grizzly's to be killed. In many parts BC there really is no shortage of grizzly's and their population ( studied many times) needs to be managed just as with the rest of wildgame. What puts the value of a grizzly's life on and above moose, deer ,caribou or black bear after all they are not endangered in BC. In the state of Alaska managers implemented intense predator management to curb the decline of Muskox and bolster weak numbers of moose and caribou, this included areail gunning of Grizzlies and shooting of family units. I don't think anyone want's to see that.
Nature is cruel even amongst itself, Grizzlies kill other grizzlies, Grizzlies kill wolves , wolves kill Grizzlies, wolves kill Cougars, wolves kill black bear and so on...... They have competing interests and that is natural.
As a life long hunter I beleive I am a part of nature and a part of the process. It's in my DNA, it's not a question of if I will hunt it's when, where and what I will hunt again.
Its as natural to some as breathing.
I hunt for clean organic meat and adventure, I want to be a part of the whole process. I hunt predators and large carnivores, including grizzly to ensure that there is always a presence of wildgame for the future. I have an unquenchable desire for adventures in the wild, but have to add that I don't hunt to kill rather I kill to have hunted. Hunters don't generally hate the game they are hunting and most wouldn't if it were not sustainable. An anti hunter would never understand that.

A true wild grizzly inhabits some of the most wild and beautiful country on the planet. What a treat to be in the rugged mountains in the early spring as everything is greening up and renewing itself. I observed avalanches coming down, seen countless wild newborn animals and crossed many blown out creeks and rivers. Often to be the soul witness, aside from the Bears. Many of my most enjoyable days in the field included or involved bear hunting in the spring. Both grizzly and black bear, and some of the ones that really renewed and recharged me had no harvest at all. When hunting grizzly one can truely experience the sense of fight or flight.
IMO you will never feel more alive and aware than when you see a big boar grizzly and commit to going for it.

[blindcast]

With all due respect, the reporter claims the need for anonymity in order to protect the the publication's "first-to-print" advantage. You've already let the cat out of the bag and if any other publication really wanted to steal that advantage, they could easily put a staffer or freelancer on the story and crank it through. Makes keeping the name of the publication confidential rather suspect.