Polar Bear Hunt until June

The licenses for Nunatsiavut beneficiaries to hunt polar bears were open February 1st of this year until June.

The distribution of the 2010 licenses for each town in Nunatsiavut remains the same over the years: Nain….2 licenses and 1 each for the communities of Hopedale, Postville, Makkovik and Rigolet.

The guidelines for the hunt include; all hunting is to be conducted in accordance with the Order, the Wildlife Act and Wildlife Regulations.

Any license holder cannot transfer or assign to any other individual. Hunters have 3 days or 72 hours to hold the license and must have a valid fire arms license.

A polar bear of either sex can be taken,with the exception of a female accompanied by cubs or in a den and/or has satellite transmitters or radio collars.

The polar bears can be taken from Fish Cove Point up to Cape Chidley, the Northern tip of Labrador.

Successful hunter within 72 hours must have the bear skinned. Provide following specimen information to the NG within 7 days:
The skull or lower jaw residual molar-tooth taken from the bear, precise location, date and sex, all bears precise location seen, den sites observed during the hunt, other information and specimen as may be requested by the Regional Wildlife Biologist for Labrador.

If any holder violates the terms or conditions of the authorization or is convicted of an offence under the Order, the Wildlife Act or Wildlife Regulations will be automatically prohibited by Nunatsiavut Government from obtaining the license for 5 years from the time of violation or conviction.

A beneficiary residing outside of a settlement area who wishes to take part in the polar bear hunt, must travel to the community to which they are closely connected and place their name in the draw for that community Polar bear license.