They might be allies on paper, but that hasn’t stopped the leader of the BC Green Party from lashing out against the NDP’s grizzly bear trophy hunt ban.
“It’s all political spin. There’s no ban. Let’s be very clear, there’s no ban on grizzly hunting in B.C. What there is is some loose language, promises that it will be made illegal to possess the hide or head or hair of grizzlies,” Andrew Weaver told guest host Drex on CKNW’s the Jon McComb Show.
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Under the NDP’s new rules, hunting for grizzlies will be completely banned in the Great Bear Rainforest, and hunters elsewhere will only be allowed to keep bear meat, not trophy parts. The regulations would take place on November 30.
But Weaver said under the NDP’s proposed rules, foreign trophy hunters could still come to B.C., shoot a grizzly, and pose for a trophy photo — regardless of whether they take the head or hide.
He added that leaving those parts behind would actually be offensive to many B.C. hunters as wasteful.
“It’s just trying to have your cake and eat it too.”
WATCH: B.C.’s grizzly hunt ban
Instead, Weaver said he wants to see legislation, along the lines of the Greens’ own 2017 bill, which would remove preferential treatment for foreign hunters, and require that all usable meat be taken in any hunt.
WATCH: The B.C. government made a big announcement today, ending the grizzly bear trophy hunt in this province. Keith Baldrey has more.
He also called for a province-wide reassessment of the way the province manages wildlife, which would include a study of how forestry, mining, and natural gas are affecting habitat.
“The science is not on anyone’s side because to be perfectly blunt the science is woeful,” he said.
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As for whether his public split from the governing party on the policy would affect the NDP-Green alliance, Weaver said it won’t change anything.
“It’s very clear that we will disagree on things, and it’s okay to disagree. It doesn’t mean you can’t work together.”