Katie Hansberry, Maine state director of The Humane Society of the United States, penned an opinion piece found in The Sun Journal about Maine’s bear management tools and tactics and proves she knows nothing about inhumane treatment of animals or human beings for that matter; certainly nothing about wildlife management.
I will agree with her on one issue. She faults the efforts of Maine legislators for proposing a bill that would prohibit the right of the citizens to petition the state concerning issues with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. It’s a dumb idea and should not be passed, as much as I would like to see groups like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a left-wing radical group of idiots and perverts, go play with grizzly bears and leave Maine citizens alone.
However, the fact that human-hating members of HSUS refuse to except, that as much as they hate man, we are a part of the grand scheme of things and as long as there exists man and beast, there will be conflicts. Groups like HSUS espouse to the idea of killing man in order that some animal may live.
Maine presently has perhaps the largest population ever of black bears. Much of the reason for this is because the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) can’t get enough hunters interested in hunting bears to help control the population. Because of that, bears are increasing at greater numbers than desirable and there are negative consequences as a result. Bears kill deer fawns and moose calves and as a result too many of these animals are being killed which changes the age structure of the deer and moose herds and if allowed to run unchecked, the risk exists that eventually those populations become unsustainable. MDIFW needs to find more ways to legally kill bears rather than protecting them.
Aside from what too many bears can and are doing to Maine’s landscape concerning other species, increased numbers of bears means increased numbers of encounters with humans. It’s easy to toss out the statement that bear attacks on humans are rare, especially when those bears aren’t threatening you directly. The truth is they do happen and will continue to happen so long as there is no means of controlling bear numbers.
HSUS wants to end all hunting, trapping and fishing because they are perverts in love with animals more than they care for the existence of human beings. As such they are absent any form or intelligent, rational thinking when it comes to the management of wild animals.
Hansberry faults the Joint Standing Committee of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (JSC) for taking an immediate vote to defeat a bill sponsored by HSUS that would have banned trapping bears and hunting them with dogs. Her attempt seems to be to demonize the Committee as somehow being corrupt. There was no need for the JSC to have much of any discussion about this issue. They’ve been down this road before and they understand that the MDIFW needs and must have all the proper, historic, tried and true tools available to them in order to properly and responsibly manage black bears. Science and history prove this. What’s to discuss?
HSUS is continually belaboring the issue that killing any animal by any means is “inhumane.” HSUS wouldn’t recognize inhumane if it jumped up and bit them on the rear end. Their efforts are about making money and conning people out of their money in order to pay large salaries. History shows that when bear numbers get too large, human encounters go up. There is too much competition for food and habitat and these animals then begin to starve and disease becomes rampant. What is humane about that? And what is humane about a starving bear attacking a person, perhaps your child, in order to eat.
The North American Model of Wildlife Management has been around for a long time and is a proven model that is the envy of the world over. Most problems that exist in this world with wildlife management comes from the actions of perverts like the HSUS. Don’t listen to their propaganda. They only want to lie and play on your emotions in order to get you to hand over your money to them. Maine needs viable and proven bear and other wildlife management based on science and reality.
Black bears are a large predator and history shows that protecting large predators has very devastating effects on the rest of the animals that need management as well. Protecting predators unnecessarily is irresponsible and removing proven management skills of wildlife is inhumane.
