full story:
http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18804235&BRD=985&...

ELLINGTON - Michael Spielman, 10, sat still in the woods for nearly
five hours, waiting.
He was beginning to lose hope. But as the evening set in, a black bear
appeared.
Wasting no time, the boy shot the animal with his Remington rifle.

The injured bear growled and headed for Michael, prompting him to
shoot twice more before the animal collapsed.
Later, Michael stopped to admire his work and pose for pictures with
the bear's carcass.

"I was just amazed," he said. "The second I pulled that trigger, it
was so cool."
...
"A 10-year-old killing a bear in Canada is an everyday occurrence," he
said. "It's not nearly as dangerous as you'd think."

But in Ontario, a non-resident must be at least 16 to be eligible for
a hunting license.
...
Hunting groups say teaching children to hunt while they are young
imparts key life skills and helps develop an appreciation for nature.

As the number of people buying hunting licenses decreases nationwide,
supporters say nature conservation programs - funded mostly by
hunters' fees - may be at risk.
But critics argue that hunting is a violent sport and worry that
handing young kids guns may be a step in the wrong direction.
...
"The last thing North America needs is another child wedded to the
idea that violence is a recreation," said Priscilla Feral, president
of Friends of Animals, an advocacy organization headquartered in
Darien.
Young people introduced to the sport, Feral said, are likely to become
"insensitive adults."

"More and more people don't want children to be taught violence in any
form," said Julie Lewin, founder and president of the National
Institute for Animal Advocacy in Guilford.
...
"It's astounding ... at this point in history that a family would
maintain this tradition," she said.
Animal-rights advocates also worry that people like the Spielmans are
making it unnecessarily difficult for animals to co-exist with a
burgeoning human population.

"We're displacing animals of the habitat they need to eke out their
own living," Feral said.
Pursuing already vulnerable species compounds the problem, she said,
adding that 1 percent of Connecticut's population hunts.