Bear hunters should be careful if they harvest a bear with white tags on its ears.
According to Ontario Fish and Wildlife (OFW), bears are sometimes “chemically immobilized” with drugs to stop conflicts with humans.
Those white ear tags are how they’re marked.
If you hunt a bear that has those white tags, if it was tagged recently, it might be unsafe to eat its meat, since the drugs used could still be in its system.
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Hunters can call Ontario’s Bear Wise reporting hotline to confirm the date the bear was immobilized and whether it’s safe to eat.
The number for the hotline is 1-866-514-2327. You can learn more about the Bear Wise hotline here.
**Written by Steve Berard