tal allowable annual kills. In 1989, external pressures on the Wildlife Branch concerned about a chronic overkill of bears, a fact that was backed up in the government own Background Report in 1995 that stated that from 1984-1988, 52 of 118 Management Units had total kills over the maximum allowable annual harvest. A new guideline was adopted stating that the total provincial harvest level should be reduced from 5% to 4%, but at the same time the Wildlife Branch revised its population estimates for the grizzlies, nearly doubling on paper the population to between 10,000 and 13,000 grizzlies (Thornton, 1998). Instead of reducing the number of grizzlies harvested, it actually may have increased the total number of kills. Independent scientists continue to estimate the population at 4,000 to 7,000 bears province wide, and it seems likely the actual populations does in fact lie somewhere below the government estimates. The reason for government overestimating populations is due to the poor methodology used to determine populations. Local biologists from each region were left to assess the number of bears that each habitat could potentially support, and adjust estimates accordingly. No field checks are actually done for the majority of populations, and the Ministry itself even admits that population totals were based on ‘best guesses’ of local biologists (Thornton, 1998). Since hunting regulations are based on population estimates, uncertainty over numbers has led to questions about the hunt that continues today. A manual count of the Limited Entry Hunting Regulations Synopsis for this hunting season shows that a total of 1151 LEH permits were available for fall and spring hunts. Without going into statistical models, this shows a lack of adherence being paid to following the precautionary principle. Even according to the top end of the Wildlife Branch’s estimates, this allows for permits to be issued for nearly 9% of the p...
