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We advocate on all animal protection and exploitation issues, including experimentation, factory farming, rodeos, breeders and traveling animal acts.

Animal Defenders of Westchester
P.O. Box 205
Yonkers, NY 10704

Campaigns
Stop Hunting

"Don't exaggerate bear incident"

Published in today's METRO (8/12/05) www.metropoint.com :

I wish to thank Metro for the intelligent, compassionate article about living with wildlife ("Yes, in my backyard" 8/4).  Especially now, when there is a war on wildlife, bolstered by inflammatory media rhetoric, it was a joy to read experts' sensible accounts about raccoons being "animals we live with," and black bears being "harmless, as long as we give them space - we have to learn how to live with species, especially bigger ones," rather than the now-prevalent "Kill 'em all."

Last week a black bear curiously poked at some sleeping campers - in a state park known to have bears - while another camper videotaped him.  The bear backed away when the campers awoke.  All major news networks reported this as a "dangerous attack!"

They further reported that this poor animal was hunted down and killed as a result of this incident, though the only "injury" was a minor welt.  You can get a "minor welt" by scratching your nose - it's the equivalent of "nothing happened."

Thank you, METRO, for not buying into this biased alarmist garbage.  If these campers had not camped out in a park known to have bears - meaning they were in the bear's home - they could have avoided the "minor welt."

The blood of this sad animal is on their hands, and on the hands of the media who seek to incite the public against animals who have as much right to be here as we do.

Kiley Blackman

Yonkers

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