Few Hunters, Too Much Litter Creating Bear Problem

Few Hunters, Too Much Litter Creating Bear Problem

Friday, June 05, 2009 at 13:21

The world economic crisis has had a serious impact on some northern Saskatchewan wildlife numbers, according to a Ministry of Environment official.

Conservation Gary Provencher says first the soaring Canadian dollar, then the economic collapse, has kept American hunters at home, rather than heading up here to hunt bears.

That has left the bears free to re-populate in numbers that Saskatchewan’s northern forests just can’t handle.

Provencher says the “harvesting” by licensed hunters is the province’s primary control measure for the bear population.

Add all those extra bears to the growing problem of trash dumping outside landfill, especially in the northwest, and the risk of human and bear contact grows to dangerous levels, says Provencher.