Fwd: Help protect California's black bears

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PLEASE e-mail! You don't have to be from California to have your voice heard!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Help protect black bears in

California!

 

 

 

 

 

Approximately 2,000 black

bears are killed every year in California, where it is legal

to hunt bears who weigh more than 50 pounds (still

young babies) with packs of dogs. The California Department of

Fish and Game (DFG) has proposed radical changes to the

state's bear hunting regulations that could jeopardize

bears even more.

 

If approved, the DFG proposal

will:

 

 

 

Allow an unlimited number of bears to be killed

across California during the hunting

season

Permit the use of high-tech global positioning

equipment and “tip switches†on dog collars to make

it easy to locate and kill a bear at point-blank

range

Open the first-ever bear hunting season in San Luis

Obispo County and expand the hunts in

Modoc and Lassen Counties

Significantly expand the hound training season,

thereby allowing dogs to harass bears nearly all year

long

 

The DFG has not demonstrated any need for these regulatory

changes other than to allow for greater recreational

opportunities for hunters. The DFG proposal makes no mention of

the detrimental effects these changes would have on the bear

populations and the habitat in the specific areas, nor

does it suggest that these changes are designed to reduce

bear/human conflicts.

 

You can help stop this proposal

by submitting a letter of opposition by March 13.

You can use the talking points at

the end of this message to frame your

letter.

 

Please submit your written comments

to:

 

Dr. Eric Loft, Chief

 

Department of Fish and

Game

Wildlife Branch

 

1812 Ninth

St. Sacramento, CA 95818

E-mail: eloft

 

Thank you for being an advocate

for the animals!

 

Warmly,

 

Nicole

Forsyth

President and CEO

United Animal

Nations

 

 

 

 

 

Talking Points on

Black Bear Hunting

 

1. Hound Hunting. Most bears

killed in California are killed by hound hunters, who use packs

of dogs to chase bears until they are cornered and forced to

climb a tree. The hunter can then shoot the bear down at close

range.

 

2. High-Tech Equipment. Many

hound hunters equip their dogs with high-tech radio telemetry

equipment, so that the hunter does not have to keep up with the

chase. The DFG proposal would permit hunters to use GPS

technology, allowing them to better track the hunt by

vehicle, and to use “tip switches†or “treeing

switches,†which alert the hunter when the dogs raise

their heads to look at a treed bear.

 

3. Harassment of Wildlife. The hound training season in California begins as bears are

emerging from hibernation with their dependent cubs. Though dogs

are prohibited from killing bears during this time frame, young

animals, such as bear cubs, are pursued and may be unable to

escape the hounds or become separated from their mothers and die

as a result.

 

4. Abuse of Hunting Dogs. Allowing dogs to attack frightened, 500-pound bears

places the dogs at great risk. Many bears act in self-defense,

wounding or killing all of the dogs with a single swipe. Dogs

who fail to hunt well are sometimes abandoned to die or

relinquished at local animal shelters.

 

5. Reckless and Unscientific Proposal. The DFG has demonstrated no need to expand bear

hunting in California and has failed to

adequately study the statewide bear population or the

populations in counties where bear hunting has been proposed. It

is unknown what impact additional trophy hunting might have on

stability of the population.

 

6. Hunting Does not Reduce Conflicts with Bears.

Trophy hunters target the largest

bears who would look good on a wall, not the young males who are

primarily responsible for conflicts. Furthermore, hunting takes

place far from homes, while so-called “problem

bears†usually live in the urban-suburban interface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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United Animal

Nations - PO Box 188890 - Sacramento, CA 95818 - info - www.uan.org