Say NO to Brown & Black Bear Baiting & Snaring in Alaska

1. chris & Ken Day

   May 10, 2011 at 7:38 am

   I could go on and on about this subject-it has so many layers. Predator control, control of one species in favor of another is faulty biology right from the start. Using snares is a cruel and barbaric way of trapping any animal and as Brad states there is no way to target the animal species that is being trapped-many other animals will suffer including the posibility of pets. We should consider “limiting hunting” in these areas where moose and caribou numbers are down-do a little “predator control” on the biggest and most efficient “predator”-man!
   I never understood “baiting” of any kind, we have spent many dollars here in AK to educate the public about the danger to bears and people of leaving trash etc available to bears-we as the general public rightly can be fined if found in violation of this-but then for some unknown reason it is OK to bait bears-do the bears know the difference? Of course not-we are simply habituating bears to human food when we “bait” them. It always amazes me how the “department” can be so blind when it comes to “managing” populations for the hunting public. AK has taken a giant step back in terms of wildlife management with predator control of all kinds-driven in my opinion by the political pressure applied by the more extremist hunting organizations. Having been involved for 23 years with bears and fighting many of these battles over the years for the bears of the AK Peninsula I soon lost my naive belief the game is managed by biology-”game management” is so amazingly political.
   I don’t know what the solution is but AK needs to move into the future, have a more far sighted view of where it is going-these “predators” if for no other reason (and there are many other reasons) have a tremendous value to the state-every person who comes to AK wants to see a bear and a wolf-they spend lots of money to accomplish this goal-tourism is certainly a sustainable industry, one that is inextricably linked to the future of AK.
   On every level we are against the baiting of bears.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/say-no-to-brown-black-bear-baitingsnaring/