Grizzly hunt debate: Alberta Wildlife Federation calls for updated science

Alberta’s long‑standing ban on grizzly bear hunting is back in the spotlight, with the Alberta Wildlife Federation saying it would support a tightly controlled hunt, but only if new research justifies it.

The federation issued a statement responding to a request from the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA), which voted to lobby the province to reconsider the 2006 moratorium.

The group says any future management plan must balance human safety with the health of the grizzly population, and be grounded in “sound science.”

RMA president Kara Westerlund says the call isn’t about immediately reopening the hunt, but about updating the research that informed the original ban.

“The study of the information that was used to put a moratorium on grizzly bear hunting is from 2006,” Westerlund said. “The one piece of this is asking for an updated study and a re‑look at what the population is doing and the movement of these bears.”

Cardston County raised the issue at the RMA’s recent convention after reporting more encounters with grizzlies in southern Alberta.

Grizzly bears have been protected from sport hunting for 20 years, though Alberta began allowing the killing of designated “problem” bears two years ago. In those cases, hunters may keep all parts of the animal except the gall bladder, which is highly valued in some forms of traditional Asian medicine.

Provincial data shows 18 grizzlies were killed by people last year:

• 7 classified as problem wildlife
• 7 harvested under treaty rights
• 3 struck by vehicles
• 1 killed in self‑defence

A province‑wide census conducted five years ago estimated Alberta’s grizzly population at nearly 1,000.