Letter from Patricia About Bear Hunts in Wisconsin - 12 Dec 2009
Letters From All-Creatures.org and The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation

Letter from Patricia About Bear Hunts in Wisconsin - 12 Dec 2009

I live in Wisconsin, one of the cruelest states. We have it all - dairy, veal, factory farms, hunting, trapping, primate labs, and Covance.

This fall, the Department of Natural Resources upped the black bear kill by 60% due to one UW study, funded by the Trappers' Association and the Bear Hunters' Association which theorized that there are twice as many bears in Wisconsin as the DNR (in all its wisdom) has thought all these years. (They haven't a clue - but why should they care when the whole point of having wildlife is for the minority of hunters and trappers to kill as much as possible for trophy and fun.)

This year, the DNR targeted 4,585 black bears to kill over bait and dogs. Traditionally, half to two- thirds of the black bears killed are babies born the spring of the kill or the previous spring. In fact, the size limit for killing is 42", which means that any bear, baby or not, can be killed legally. There are two hunts from Wisconsin over dogs on Youtube.

I have placed two petitions on the Care2 Petition Web site - one against this bear slaughter, and one FOR democracy for wildlife lovers in Wisconsin. I did the research and there are 2.3 million wildlife watchers in Wisconsin compared to a dwindling 600,000 hunters. We who love wildlife bring 11 times the revenue to state and local tax coffers as hunters - yet we have NEVER had ANY say in wildlife decisions or policies. The non-killing public has lost knowledge of the way to be involved. We are the only state in the country that has an annual ELECTION of 2 of 5 delegates to represent us in setting policy for wildlife and nature. For 75 years, all of the delegates have come from the killing clubs (except for me and one other woman). All of the 360 delegates are now from the rod and gun clubs and all of the policies are about expanding hunter/trapper power in law, expanding their access to public and private lands, and expanding killing of more species in more ways with more youth and women to participate in killing.

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