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Grizzly bear hunting class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: More than 100 Canadian guides and outfitters sued British Columbia’s government.
- Why: They say the government’s ban on grizzly bear hunting in the province financially harms them.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in British Columbia.
More than 100 Canadian guides and outfitters who say the government of British Columbia’s ban on grizzly bear hunting financially harmed them seek certification of their class action lawsuit.
The guides seek financial compensation for financial hardship sustained in the years since the B.C. government banned the hunt in 2017, Outdoor Life reports.
The class action lawsuit does not seek to reinstate the hunt, but it does allege that the ban was wrongly instated and wasn’t needed from a conservation standpoint.
However, Natural Resources Minister Doug Donaldson told the Globe and Mail the decision to end the grizzly bear hunt had less to do with the status of the bear population than the public’s general perception of grizzly bear hunting.
“People in the province have come to their understanding, their point of view that the trophy hunting of grizzly bears is not a socially acceptable practice in B.C. in 2017,” Donaldson told the Globe and Mail around the time of the ban. “We recognize that there will be some loss of revenue in small communities from many aspects.”
Grizzly bear hunting ban violated Wildlife Act, guides say
Plaintiff Ron Fleming and other guides and outfitters are fighting for compensation for that loss of revenue, claiming the government caused them undue financial hardship by suddenly banning the hunt without any scientific justification.
Fleming has previously testified that each grizzly hunt was worth $12,500 with an added fee if the customer was successful in killing a bear.
The lawsuit also claims that the ban violated laws set forth in the Wildlife Act—legislation governing wildlife in Canada.
Fleming alleges that, under the act, the government can make a change when there’s a science-based conservation concern, for example a heavy winter kill, forest fires or disease.
However, he claims there was no conservation concern and that the government didn’t consult with guides in any way. When B.C. instated the ban, Fleming says guides were shocked.
Meanwhile, British Columbia also faces a class action lawsuit along with the insurer ICBC that alleges ICBC illegally reimbursed the province for medical fees that should have been covered under the Medical Services Plan with money from accident victims.
What do you think of the allegations in this case? Let us know in the comments!
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