Polar Bears in Manitoba

 

Protection of Polar Bears in Manitoba

 Manitoba and Canada are party to a number of agreements respecting the protection of polar bears and Manitoba has a robust legislative and policy framework in place for the protection of polar bears and residents of Churchill, the only community where bears and people routinely interact.

The Government of Manitoba actively participates in the management of the polar bears' welfare through provincial programs or cooperative programs with other jurisdictions.

Manitoba Conservation must occasionally remove polar bears from Churchill to protect life and property and must balance conflicting public opinion regarding placement in zoos and animal welfare.

The donation of Manitoba Polar Bears to zoos is currently managed by the 1998 policy and procedure directive that stipulates holding facility and animal husbandry standards required to be eligible to receive a bear from Manitoba, and places restrictions on transferring animals to another facility. Regulations under the new Act will be drafted before the end of 2002 and will replace the existing policy when the Act is proclaimed.

A foster parenting study, conducted in conjunction with Manitoba Conservation by a British animal welfare organization called The Born Free Foundation, has been taking place in the Churchill area since 2000/2001 to determine if female bears with one healthy cub will accept a second orphaned cub. One orphaned cub was successfully placed with a surrogate mother in the fall of 2001 but several other attempted placements failed. If this program can be made to be successful, Manitoba may never have another orphaned cub to place in a zoo. It should be remembered that the only alternative to fostering or zoo placement is euthanasia as orphaned cubs are unable to survive on their own.