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I recently had the pleasure of visiting grizzly bear country, inside the traditional Bute Inlet territory of the Homalco Nation. Deep in the dense forest, with impossibly massive bears fishing the shores of a salmon-packed river, it was a page out of National Geographic. We saw nine grizzlies, including a female with her spring cubs, and a newly independent juvenile gamely trying to catch his lunch.

I come often to see family and friends in B.C. I also come, as do so many from around the world, to see iconic wildlife in their natural settings. Many of us concerned about threatened wildlife were impressed that B.C. voters made trophy hunting of grizzlies an election issue. When the NDP government promised to end it, we looked forward to seeing that promise delivered quickly. The ban would be precedent setting, with far-reaching implications.

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Instead, the promised B.C. ban was both inexplicably delayed until after a full fall hunting season and then, when delivered, it was incomplete, allowing the killing of grizzlies for meat. Safari Club International has actively interfered in this matter since the campaign for the ban began, even calling members to crash and load media opinion polls and comments. But the reality is that while U.S. trophy hunters and local outfitters are angered by this ban, it is all too clear they see it as interference, not as an end to the killing.