Denise Goldmann, Goleta
March 11, 2010 12:00 AM
Re: the recent letter to the editor, “Make humans unbearable to bears,” hunting doesn’t reduce conflicts with bears.
Trophy hunters target the largest bears that may look good on a wall or as a throw rug, not the young males that are primarily responsible for conflicts. Furthermore, hunting occurs far from homes, while so-called problem bears usually live in the urban-suburban areas.
Shooting bears at random is an ineffective way of reducing conflicts and using hunting to control bears ignores the root cause of most conflicts: irresponsible human behavior, i.e, landowners who don’t properly dispose of garbage.
Hunting bears doesn’t increase their fear of people. Bears that are hunted end up dead and can’t pass that fear on to their offspring. California’s had bear-hunting seasons for hundreds of years, and it’s done nothing to stop bears from encroaching into human habitat.
No human has ever been killed by a black bear in California. Yet, humans kill thousands of bears each year. Who is the dangerous animal here?
There’s nothing sporting about shooting a frightened black bear that has climbed a tree to elude barking hounds. And when bears are treed, many cubs are witness to the trophy bear being killed, leaving them as orphans to die slow, agonizing deaths. This method of hunting is cruel, barbaric and unethical.
The presence of packs of hounds also disturbs the tranquility of those who recreate in Los Padres National Forest, which could be opened to bear hunting this summer.
For information go to: www.savebears.org or www.animalrescueteam.net.
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