On March 27, U.S. Representatives Elton Gallegly (R-CA) and Jim Moran
(D-VA) introduced the "Don't Feed the Bears" Act, to ban bear baiting on
federal lands. Bear baiting, which is legal in only nine states, is
sometimes used by hunters to lure hungry bears using piles of donuts,
pizza, grease, and rotting meats. The unsuspecting bears are then shot at
point-blank range while their heads are buried in the food cache.
It is
both unethical and ironic that federal land management agencies, which
publish materials exhorting the public to refrain from feeding bears,
continue to allow hunters to engage in bear-baiting on federal lands.
Thousands of bait stations set on federal land are a prescription for
conflict between bears and people.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Contact your U.S. Representative, and ask him/her to cosponsor the
Gallegly-Moran bill, also known as the "Don't Feed the Bears" Act. (No
bill number has been assigned yet, but it should be by tomorrow.) All
federal legislators can be reached by calling the US Capitol switchboard:
202-224-3121. To identify the names of your federal legislators, you can
either call us at 202-955-3666 or visit www.Congress.org.
Enviroshop is maintained by dedicated NetSys Interactive Inc. owners & employees who generously contribute their time to maintenance & editing, web design, custom programming, & website hosting for Enviroshop.