Alberta Rural Municipalities Push for Regulated Grizzly Bear Hunt

0:00It's April 13th. From your city to your ears, this is Calgary News today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Rural municipalities of Alberta is pushing the province to start a regulated grizzly bear hunt because human bear conflicts are on the rise. They passed the resolution last month calling for tags issued through a draw system based on population data, conflict trends, and past results to keep. Bear numbers sustainable. The group also wants to scrap the grizzly recovery plan from 2008 and replace it with the fresh management strategy. RMA President Kara Westirland says they need better data from a new population study, plus more funding for conservation officers to handle problem. Bears. In southern Alberta spots like Kartston County, bears are raiding homes, grain bins, and livestock, with attacks like one on a fisherman last August. Local leaders say grizzly numbers have climbed steadily over the past decade, from about 700 to 800 in 2010 to over 1,000 now.

1:03The province shut down recreational hunting in 2006, but allows shooting problem bears through a responder network since June of this year. Officials stress science-based decisions for safety and sustainability, while an environmental group warns hunting is improving to cut complex and pushes for coexistence funding instead. Everyone from ranchers to wildlife experts knows more bears mean more close calls, so Alberta's got to balance public safety with smart conservation. Before things escalate further.