March 22, 2010 update: According to a story in today’s Edmonton Journal,

“Sustainable Resource Development Minister Mel Knight says the Alberta Endangered Species Committee has again recommended that grizzly bears be listed as a threatened species.” The story quotes Mr. Hunt as saying, “Most certainly, the government of Alberta has every intention of being sure grizzly bears remain part of the landscape in Alberta.” The Alberta government has continued to suspend the spring hunt.

Here in British Columbia, no such commitment has been made. In nine days, hunters will start killing the province’s bears in the annual spring hunt.

The Province of British Columbia lets people kill grizzly bears for fun. This is an obscenity that must be stopped.

The grizzly bear is a magnificent animal, a symbol of this province’s natural beauty, yet the government lets hunters kill it for sport. Minister of Environment Barry Penner should be ashamed of himself.

Grizzlies are under pressure from habitat destruction and salmon depletion and nobody knows how many remain. They have been extirpated from much of the Pacific Northwest, yet we are fortunate to have some left here in BC. In a few short weeks, rich American hunters will start blasting grizzly bears to oblivion as they emerge hungry and bleary-eyed from their dens. Why? So these brave folks can peel off their hides and put them on their rec room walls.

Stop this abomination. Contact the David Suzuki Foundation, write your MLA, the Premier and Minister Penner. Do something, before it is too late.