There is more money in looking at bears than there is in shooting them — 12 times more to be exact, according to a new study.
The study conducted by the Centre for Responsible Tourism, a research institute at Stanford University in Washington, D.C., and funded by the conservation organization Tides Canada, concluded that bear-related ecotourism is exponentially more profitable than trophy hunting.
"It seemed to us quite clear that the government is spending more to sort of manage and oversee hunting than it is earning from revenue from hunting," she said.
Photo:A Kermode bear, better known as the Spirit Bear, is seen fishing in the Riordan River on Gribbell Island. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
