from the Humane Society of the United States
Congress is considering a bill which would ban bear
baiting on federal lands. Bear baiting is the unfair practice of
shooting bears over piles of bait. Trophy hunters set out piles of food
on public lands, causing bears to become accustomed to coming to these
bait stations for an easy meal. Once hunting season starts the hunter
waits for the bear to arrive and shoots her as she sits there eating.
Every year, bear baiters set out thousands of bait piles
on federal lands, principally national forests. Bait piles set out by
hunters can consist of hundreds of pounds of human food scraps, rotting
fruits and meats, and even carcasses of other animals. Most bears who
feed at the bait stations are not shot, and these animals become
accustomed to human food sources, causing problems for people and the
bears.
Animals conditioned to being fed by humans will break
into cabins and cars, raid campgrounds, and approach humans more
readily. Bears habituated to human food sources are likely to be labeled
as "nuisance" animals and are often targeted for killing.
Please contact your representative in the House of
Representatives and tell him or her that you support H.R. 1472 which
would ban bear baiting on federal lands. A phone call is harder to
ignore than an email.
Trophy hunting groups are aggressively working the
Congress to maintain this terrible method for slaughtering our nations
bears, but your call could make a difference!
For more information visit
http://www.hsus.org/ace/16258
The Last Supper: Bear Baiting on Federal Lands in the United States
Find your Representative...
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
Congress.org -- Write To Congress, the President and State Legislators
*******Late Breaking News*******
The Interior Appropriations bill is tentatively scheduled for the
House of Representatives for Thursday, July 17. Both the bison issue and
the bear-baiting issue will be amendments to the bill. The first is the
Gallegly-Moran Amendment that would prohibit bear baiting on federal
lands. The second is the Rahall Bison Protection Amendment. This would
stop the National Park Service from taking part in the slaughter of the
Yellowstone bison. Please call your Representative before Thursday and
urge him or her to support these amendments.
Go on to Fourth of July Litter
Return to 13 July 2003 Issue
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