CANADA (CU)_ There is an estimated grizzly bear population of 30 thousand in Canada, where the majority are found in British Columbia. This number may further decline according to a study conducted by the University of British Colombia which has found that fur trapping practices are leading to amputated bear toes and called for a change to the practice.
Dr. Clayton Lamb, postdoctoral researcher with the University of British Colombia Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science who conducted the study stated that a low proportion of grizzly bears in the southeast corner of British Columbia have toes absent, and further stated that even though the data is low, it points to a vital development of unintended amputations due to fur trapping bycatch, are significant enough to cause concern.
Fur trapping is a practice of setting traps for animals to capture fur. Many animals’ rights activist have called for its ban, as quite often the animal trapped is an unintended target and quite often the animals die even after being released from the trap. The results of the study demonstrate that from 57 bears captured, 4 had no toes on one side of their feet, making it difficult for them to dig for food or defend themselves.
Grizzly bears play a key role in the food chain as their elimination will lead to a decrease in seed dispersion and an increase in the animals, they consume such as fish insects, deer’s and dead animals.
The study was conducted with 4 unique traps and the findings saw that it was clear even with low data that all 4 traps caught the bears and video footage showed bears exploring the traps and manipulating the boxes with their paws.
The researchers also found that it was not the first snap of the trap that led the bears to lose their toes, but extended duration of the trap locked on to their foot. Dr. Lamb proposed many solutions for policy makers and stated that there were both pros and cons.
