Evidence of sex on bears - not required unless for compulsory inspection?

[caddisguy]

I was looking over the regs under Possession and Transportation on Page 20:

"Anyone who possesses or transports the carcass or part of the carcass of the following animals must leave naturally attached to the carcass or one part of the carcass in the
personal possession the following listed parts"

It goes on to list the requirements for:

"Elk, moose and deer"
"Caribou"
"Mountain goat or bison"

The only reference to bears is under "Removing Evidence of Sex & Species":

"NOTE: It is not an offense to possess bear genitalia attached to the hide or carcass, and, after it is no longer needed on a bear carcass as evidence of sex, the genitalia may be removed from the hide at the above locations if immediately destroyed and disposed of at that location. Leaving evidence of species and sex on the carcass will not spoil or in any way contaminate the meat."

Other than compulsory inspection for specific MU's where it is required, it would seem there is no legal obligation to keep any parts of the hide or evidence of sex. Is this an accurate interpretation if the regs?

[The_Bear_Man]

It would appear that sex is not neccesary however perhaps a CO would think otherwise? I remember someone on here stating that a CO made a fuss about removing evidence of sex.

also, do you need to be in possession of the edible quarters of a bear when you are transporting the hide to a taxidermist?

[ACE]

Had an absurd conversation with a Conservation Officer from Nanaimo ..... this happened some years ago in the Northwest Bay / upper Englishman River area.

I'd rolled a big boar and was stopped on the mainline out.
Evidence of sex was left intact, tag was cancelled, rifle was safe, was doing the speed limit, my hair was combed, had matching socks, and had paid my Income Tax .....
This somewhat 'wet behind the ears' Conservation Officer informed me that I was in violation because I'd failed to indicate the sex of the bear on the tag .... failed to cut the 'Antlered' portion of my Black bear tag .....
This conversation was heating up rather quickly until some other fellows stopped ..... the Conservation Officer had blocked the mainline.
I started to laugh as did the other fellows ....... Barney Fife steamed off in his truck.

[MichelD]

It would appear that sex is not neccesary however perhaps a CO would think otherwise? I remember someone on here stating that a CO made a fuss about removing evidence of sex.

also, do you need to be in possession of the edible quarters of a bear when you are transporting the hide to a taxidermist?

That may have been me.

I was stopped by C.O. Chris Doyle (now Deputy chief for the province) near Squamish with a bear in the truck once and he said he wanted to see evidence of the sex of the bear.

I said that was not required by law, but he replied that he wanted to see it to prove that I hadn't shot a lactating female.

I had somehow had a gut feeling when we were skinning the bear that it wouldn't hurt to do it, so I had left the male parts aboard the rear half of the bear. It seemed like he was almost upset that he couldn't lecture me further.

[caddisguy]

That may have been me.

I was stopped by C.O. Chris Doyle (now Deputy chief for the province) near Squamish with a bear in the truck once and he said he wanted to see evidence of the sex of the bear.

I said that was not required by law, but he replied that he wanted to see it to prove that I hadn't shot a lactating female.

I had somehow had a gut feeling when we were skinning the bear that it wouldn't hurt to do it, so I had left the male parts aboard the rear half of the bear. It seemed like he was almost upset that he couldn't lecture me further.

That is a very interesting experience. Thank you for sharing it.

Last year, we pretty much had to butcher in-field (long story but it is what it is) We kept evidence of sex but it was not really attached to anything resembling a carcaus or even a full quarter for that matter. I felt uneasy thinkin that it might be legally questionable.

My thoughts now are that evidence of sex is not a legal requirement, but it can remove any suspicion and prevent some hassle, so might as well.

[eddy p]

can you not de-bone a bear and just bring home the edible portions in plastic totes, leaving everything else in the bush.

[caddisguy]

can you not de-bone a bear and just bring home the edible portions in plastic totes, leaving everything else in the bush.

It seems that you can do so and that you do not need to have evidence of sex attached to said edible portions. That said, if you make the effort to do so, it could save you some scrutiny. From my interpretation of the regs however, it does not seem like a legal necessity.

[okas]

C O Chis Doyle :???: that is the gov. just stay there and sooner or latter you move up ... brains not needed ... two super dorks in Ft.Saint John dumb and dumber ...

[Harvest the Land]

I was wondering and looking up the same thing and came across this thread through a google search.

So no legal requirement to leave evidence of sex on bears unless its harvested in a compulsory inspection MU, but to save some hassle it might be a good idea to leave man parts attached; and its perfectly ok to de-bone the bear and just bring home the edible portions, leaving everything else in the bush? Just want to make sure I got this right

[ryanb]

That may have been me.

I was stopped by C.O. Chris Doyle (now Deputy chief for the province) near Squamish with a bear in the truck once and he said he wanted to see evidence of the sex of the bear.

I said that was not required by law, but he replied that he wanted to see it to prove that I hadn't shot a lactating female.

I had somehow had a gut feeling when we were skinning the bear that it wouldn't hurt to do it, so I had left the male parts aboard the rear half of the bear. It seemed like he was almost upset that he couldn't lecture me further.

I think almost everyone that has hunted the sea to Sky area has a Chris Doyle story. I assume his new position of deputy chief will at least keep him out of the field.

Read the regs, follow the regs, and don't be afraid of overzealous COs that feel the need to invent their own regulations.

[dracb]

I was looking over the regs under Possession and Transportation on Page 20:

"Anyone who possesses or transports the carcass or part of the carcass of the following animals must leave naturally attached to the carcass or one part of the carcass in the
personal possession the following listed parts"

It goes on to list the requirements for:

"Elk, moose and deer"
"Caribou"
"Mountain goat or bison"

The only reference to bears is under "Removing Evidence of Sex & Species":

"NOTE: It is not an offense to possess bear genitalia attached to the hide or carcass, and, after it is no longer needed on a bear carcass as evidence of sex, the genitalia may be removed from the hide at the above locations if immediately destroyed and disposed of at that location. Leaving evidence of species and sex on the carcass will not spoil or in any way contaminate the meat."

Other than compulsory inspection for specific MU's where it is required, it would seem there is no legal obligation to keep any parts of the hide or evidence of sex. Is this an accurate interpretation if the regs?


But elsewhere the regulations dealing with compulsory inspection state: "For grizzly bear, black bear, lynx, cougar,
bobcat, and wolf:
• the skull and the hide bearing:
• for males, a testicle or part of the penis, or
• for females, a portion of the teats or
mammary gland."

[sawmill]

I would sex with a bear would be VERY evident. Just show the C.O. all the claw marks on your body and ask him to take you to the hospital.

[Steve W]

I would sex with a bear would be VERY evident. Just show the C.O. all the claw marks on your body and ask him to take you to the hospital.

That's funny!

We once had a guy walk into the Castlegar office to report he'd been mauled by a bear. He looked fine coming through the door, but when he turned around he was pretty shredded up on his back. Just assumed he was telling us the truth!

[Gateholio]

That may have been me.

I was stopped by C.O. Chris Doyle (now Deputy chief for the province) near Squamish with a bear in the truck once and he said he wanted to see evidence of the sex of the bear.

I said that was not required by law, but he replied that he wanted to see it to prove that I hadn't shot a lactating female.

I had somehow had a gut feeling when we were skinning the bear that it wouldn't hurt to do it, so I had left the male parts aboard the rear half of the bear. It seemed like he was almost upset that he couldn't lecture me further.

Not the only time I've heard of a CO bring up the evidence of sex on a bear re: lactating female. I suppose it's a valid request, although I'm no biologist. I leave the evidence of sex on a bear as a matter of course, never thought anything of it.

CO Bob Butcher in Lillooett once examined my license and noted I had killed a bear in the spring and didn't cut the antlered/antlerless portion of the tag. He went on about it for a bit and my jaw dropped until I realized he was just screwing around with me, and we had a good laugh. :)

As for Chris Doyle, he attended many of our club's meetings, kept us apprised of ongoing local situations/investigations (obviously only what he was allowed to share) and was a very motivated CO. We all talk about wanting more CO presence, well, he was certainly present. Never had a problem with him, and have been quite happy to see him on several occasions. Also, he was a good resource for RCMP officers when dealing with hunters/hunters firearms as well.

(RCMP can't be experts in all facets of the law, and many of them believe that it's illegal to transport a non restricted firearm without a trigger lock/in a case. Also, some of the RCMP come from other provinces where provincial game laws require this)

Evidence of sex on a bear mandatory? Maybe not? I always assumed it was....but it's pretty easy to leave it attached to a hindquarter or the hide, to appease any CO concerns. So I do it. YMMV

[takla1]

Had a big male @ 30 yrds this afternoon while picking blackberrys for homemade wine in west Mission .Bugger took a few steps our way before my yelling and our sent hit him...
He turned and slowly went uphill on his way munching berrys.My sister inlaw was pissed as shes never used bear bangers before and left them in the truck before we departed picking..

takla