Remember this: Eventually, you will come to the moment where someone will decide who makes it into the life raft while the ship be-a-sinking.
I knew somewhere this would happen. Where non-resident hunters would get preferential treatment over resident hunters via guided outfitters because of legislative and governmental decisions and policies.
This issue is much deeper than bear decimation out the Pitt Valley Region in the British Columbia area. This is a symptom of the disregard for legal matters, the residents as a whole, and the manipulation of legal matters for self-serving purposes on the part of local and foreign outfitters with or without the knowledge of the trophy hunting tourist. There is probably more as is always.
What I have read thus far in my on-going read-a-thon on this matter is: On 10 Dec 2014, the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations decided to allocate an increase in the proportion of licenses available to the 'industry'. It seemed to imply from further reading, the outfitter guiding services. The implication of putting the guided outfitter's service business needs over the resident hunter in British Columbia, who walks out his yard in his home country to do his business of bringing fare home for the table.
Why the special treatment?
I read there was legislation that allowed guide outfitting operations to be own by foreign corporations. This is being done off the backs of local British Columbians and her resident hunters. I wondered how exactly is this done off the BC residences backs? Why and What?! Capitalism, go figure.
In February 2013, the Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources Operations Amendment Act, 2014 removed the requirement that a guide outfit can only be owned by a citizen of British Columbia. I guess someone let the door open for outside foreign entities to establish a business, like so many other foreign business that come and use up local resources, do their damage, close up shop and move on to the next honey hole. It is very rare that these groups leave things in pristine shape. These types of businesses leave a wake of destruction that takes years to repair when left to nature. They are there for the money, will do the song and dance of the locals to win them over, while robbing them blind.
Here is the trouble. Canadian Government is advancing the Hunting industry or something else, and not the resident hunter or non-hunter per se. When you encourage people to learn to hunt, then restrict existing and new hunters or show preferential treatment to business entities such as outfitting guides for the sake of trophy hunting tourism and charging insane monetary amounts towards non-residential hunters for the life of a animal, in trade for what takes a short period of time for a bullet to fly and the animal to die, is potentially unsanitary in thought and action.
Add on top of this the public reports of Canadian residents, both hunter, non-hunter, tourists, and fisherman, etc that in localized areas wildlife are being removed from the landscape over an extended period of time by unscrupulous outfitters, who commit crimes in other locations and are not penalized in their home country or elsewhere for existing offenses.
An individual willing to do bad things will do bad things again...and elsewhere.
Is it that easy to work around Canadian laws and shove the bear meat under the rock and walk out the wood with the hide? Is this what is being taught to non-resident hunters? As long as you have the money and the ability to keep your mouth shut and not get caught, we can get away with it. When we are done we will move to the next territory, fly under the radar, kill again, shove it under a rock and walk out without anyone noticing. What if some hunting tourist has his/her kids there hunting with him/her? Is that something ethically and morally to learn?
Wildlife management should first benefit the wildlife and the landscape not the politician or the outfitters pocket. If an outfitter charges the rate of $3000 to $5000 per bear shot, then shoots the area clean, that outfitter has the money to move on. Whoever lives there is left with nothing. Unless someone is going to be relocating animals to empty areas, it does take a while for new ones to come in. That outfitter already knows from his buddies on the Outfitter Grapevine and all these great people posting the trophy photos, where the bear are. Thus they move on...
I read one pdf that referred to individuals and groups as black bear stakeholders, as if black bears are some kind of stock on Wall Street. When you think about it black bear stock is high at four figures, not including hunting fees, and setting up incidentals such as food and lodging. Black bear can become a five figure stock bond hanging on your wall that you will never be able to cash in.
I have snake oil I would like to sale...
Once you have certain groups that are given more say in the care, handling and harvesting of a beast, while the rest of a country is disregarded in their intellectual or emotional input is disturbing. It speaks to the lack of respect of countrymen and women, the environmental habitat and the creatures themselves. It's an affront to your humanity.
This is a very good case to explore on how a non-resident with money and privilege can walk into someone else's country and be given preference over the resident hunter living there by the country's own legislation. This legislation should be working for the habitat, wildlife, and resident constituent and not the visitor-tourist.
There is also the concern that the Hunting establishment, which is run by unnamed individuals or groups with privilege, power and money can hold sway over the political regime. These people, you will never meet, will establish an influencing force over hunting policies in countries and other states that are not their home location. What happens when that self-serving agenda causes the residential hunter the loss of rightful privileges and hunting quarry due to money, greed, the desire of a specialized group or hunting tourist for a animal body part to look at on a wall, access to that desire and selling out the animals for nothing more than a picture and a skin?
When you think about it, you are a resident living in an area where you feel the security of a particular animal, stream, or plant being there and then it is gone. This usually indicates change of a negative nature, so you think or feel. The feeling you get is suspicion, anxiety, loss, anger and then helplessness because someone or something came along and took away that thing you held as a constant in your life away without remorse at doing so. All because the stranger you would never meet or know...could.
Look into it yourself.
http://www.bcwf.bc.ca/
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/trophy-hunters-decimate-bears-bc-valley-under-abysmal-policy?page=0,1
Written by: W Harley Bloodworth
~Courtesy of the AOFH~
