First Nations hope hunting ban will protect rare Spirit bears

Two First Nations along B.C.’s Central Coast hope a new hunting ban will help save the Spirit bears. B.C.’s new hunting and trapping regulations prohibit black bear hunting on Gitga’at and Kitasoo/Xai’xais land in the Great Bear Rainforest. The two First Nations say the move will help protect Spirit bears — a rare form of black bear with a genetic mutation that turns its fur white.

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