LETTER TO PROTECT BLACK BEARS & MOUNTIAN LIONS

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LETTER TO PROTECT BLACK BEARS & MOUNTIAN LIONS IN IDAHO

 

From- theanimalspirit- (it’s free!)

 

 

SOURCE: Barry Kent MacKay

International Program Director

Animal Protection Institute

www.api4animals.com

 

 

 

 

SEND LETTER TO:

 

Nancy A. Hadley, Alex Irby, Don Clower, Roy Moulton

FAX: 208-334-2114

 

Marcus Gibbs, Fred Wood III, M.D. John Burns

Fish & Game Commissioners

Idaho Dept. of Fish & Game

P.O. Box 25

Boise, Idaho 83707

Web site:

http://www2.state.id.us/fishgame/fishgame.html

Phone: (208) 334-3700

FAX: (208) 334-2148 / (208) 334-2114

Email: idfginfo

Email form:

http://www2.state.id.us/fishgame/feedback.cfm

 

 

c.c. Governor Dirk Kempthorne

Office of the Governor

700 W. Jefferson, 2nd Flr

PO Box 83720

Boise, Idaho 83720-0034

Fax 208-334-2175

e-mail form:

http://www2.state.id.us/gov/correspondence.htm

 

 

SAMPLE LETTER

 

Re: Please vote AGAINST the proposal to kill bears and

mountain lions

 

Dear Commissioners:

 

I am writing to encourage all of the Idaho Fish and

Game Commissioners to vote against a proposal to kill

over 50% of the bears and mountain lions in Units 39

and 40 using bait stations, hounds and foot and neck

snares. This is a very crude experiment to determine

if the decreased survival rate of elk calves is due to

predation.

 

Biologists have stated that elk are having difficulty

reproducing in the Clearwater Region due to habitat

changes. Years of fire suppression have encouraged

the growth of thick forests eliminating new growth

areas that elk need for a source of food. This is

combined with a slow-down in logging on federal lands

that has further reduced new growth. Rather than

targeting predators, the Fish and Game Commission

should accept the changes or work on optimizing elk

habitat and reduce human hunting pressures.

 

Here's what biologist John Beecham, Ph.D, Boise,

Idaho, stated in a letter to the " Idaho Statesman " in

January 2001:

 

" The data I now have from IDFG (Idaho Department of

Fish and Game) violates every standard accepted by all

Western states for percentage females in the harvest

(35-40 percent), and cannot be interpreted to

encourage additional harvest of female cougars. "

 

And, here's what Sally Maughan, President of the Idaho

Black Bear Rehab, Inc. (IBBR), said in a letter to

the " Idaho Statesman " on February 11, 2001:

 

" As founder of Idaho Black Bear Rehab & a wildlife

rehabilitator for 23 years, I respect the hard working

people at F & G (Fish and Game), but I'm angry at the

commissioners proposal for WS (Wildlife Services

formerly Animal Damage Control) to kill 75 bears.

I've stayed out of political battles surrounding bears

until now. I'm not anti-hunting, but I deplore any

action allowing the killing of females with cubs.

Don't be fooled into believing they are safe in dens.

IBBR regularly receives orphans as early as April. "

 

In order to increase long-term elk calf survival you

need to increase favorable habitat - not kill

predators.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

c.c. Governor Dirk Kempthorne

 

 

 

 

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