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Common Sense Wins in California Bear Hunting Ban Proposal

A bill in California that would have banned all bear hunting in the state is now dead, thanks to COVID-19. The sponsor for SB 252, Sen. Scott Weiner, pulled the bill on February 1, citing pandemic response as taking precedence over other legislative matters.

“With more pressing issues such as the pandemic underway, the Senator felt this isn’t the time to focus on this right now,” a Weiner representative told the Sacramento Bee.

A tidal wave of pro-conservation, pro-sportsman opposition, including a Change.org petition with more than 27,000 signatures, certainly was a contributing factor.

“We were pleased to see Sen.Weiner pull SB 252, as it was an ill-conceived bill not founded in science. The voices of sportsmen and sportswomen were present and heard immediately after the filing, and numerous conservation organizations quickly opposed the bill,” said Corey Mason, a certified wildlife biologist and Dallas Safari Club Executive Director.

Mason said that Sen. Weiner faced major pushback from those who recognized how bad the bill would be for black bears and their conservation, saying this was the true reason he withdrew it.

“This is a great example of how the conservation community can influence policy,” Mason said, adding that conservationists and hunters must remain vigilant. “This bill will be back, and additional states will likely try the same.”

Bear Trust International’s Executive Director Logan Young said his group strongly opposed the legislation, as it was based “100 percent off emotion and had zero scientific data to back it up.”

“Sportsmen and conservationists rallied together to display the true biological facts and proven negative outcomes of what they were proposing,” Young said. “The right decision was made.”

Sportsmen and women across the United States have witnessed numerous attempts to eliminate bear hunting in California, including a longtime prohibition on baiting and a 2012 ban on hunting bears with hounds. But this time, those who have been at the forefront of conservation for the last century stood firm.

It’s perfect timing.

California’s bear population far from danger and, in fact, has dramatically increased over the last 40 years. According to California Department of Fish & Wildlife officials, in 1982, the statewide bear population was estimated to be between 10 ,000-15,000. At present, the statewide black bear population is conservatively estimated to be between 30,000-40,000.

And as bear numbers have climbed, so have depredation permits issued by the state for livestock attack instances and dangerous interactions with people. These permits have seen peaks and valleys over the last 20 years, with the latest available information showing more than 450 permits issued in 2015 and more than 300 issued in 2018, the last year statistics are available.

Other bear-related issues are occurring in North America, like decreased ungulate populations and increasing grizzly numbers in British Columbia after a 2017 hunting ban. In 2020, First Nations people in northwest British Columbia spoke out against the ban and called for its reversal. In an article in The Interior News, Chad Day, President of the Tahltan Central Government, which is the governing body of the remote Tahltan Nation, said his people already see problems.

“They are the apex predators in our country,” Day said. “They are extremely dangerous to not just other wildlife but to people and the conservation efforts of other (prey) species that we hold dear as Canadians, British Columbians and Indigenous people.”

Bears are a shining example of wildlife recovery as the science-based North American Model of Conservation, which includes hunting as a management tool, has seen the population grow.

From its low of around 200,000 in the early 1900s, black bear numbers have increased to more than 600,000 today, according to officials with the National Park Service. Grizzly numbers are on the rise as well, with populations in the lower 48 United States, particularly in the Yellowstone region, moving into areas that have seen no grizzlies for decades. These numbers are factoring in a significantly increased human population and destruction of habitat for both species.

Put simply; bears are thriving.

Hunter-conservationists have been at the forefront of bear recovery, and the legal harvest of these carnivores serves as a barrier to human-bear conflict. Bears will continue to thrive as long as science-based management involving hunters continues. The defeat of the “The Bear Protection Act” is a victory for hunting and conservation.

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