Contributors to this thread:
Rock's Link
Just got the attached link from a friend.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/670/081/728/hunting-hibernating-animals-should-stay-illegal/
Some peope have watched too many 'Paddington Bear' episodes...
They need to walk their dog Fluffy in wolf are and they will have a different opinion, especially when they find the scat of Fluffly.
I signed their petition as wolf hunter, told them how stupid they are and left a Starbucks email address.
Hunting bears in dens is not common in Alaska, but it IS a traditional subsistence activity practiced by some Gwitchin and Koyukon Athabascans.
I wonder if any of the moon bats that started the petition have any respect at all for Native culture? (The USFWS and NPS sure don't. Despite their claims.)
I'm pretty sure none of them have the cojones to crawl into a bear den themselves! Much less kill grizzlies with a wooden spear...
Pete
"Moon bats". I like that.
Where does "den" hunting even take place? Never heard of it.
Well Pete, since when does subsistence hunting meld with modern conservation practices? It should be banned completely. Accepting a "cultural practice" as sacrosanct is ignorant. I guess we should support female genital mutilation too?
The moon bats aren't talking about conservation, which is good because they are extremely under qualified to do so and the only culture they are aware of is modern liberalism.
JusPassin,
I'm not conversant regarding genital mutilation, but your using it as a moral equivalent is telling!
In Alaska, den hunting melds quite well with modern conservation practices. There are probably less than a dozen bears taken this way each winter from nearly 400 MILLION acres. Why ban something so obviously sustainable, that is culturally important? Perhaps just so that a few animal rights nut jobs (or ideologically driven hunters in Iowa) can sleep better at night?
Pete
I'll be honest, I kind of agree with the petitioners. If you read the comments most are not opposed to hunting, just hunting hibernating animals. I can't say I find that kind of hunting appealing either.
Indigenous or native tribes might have to do it to survive a harsh winter but I don't think that logic applies to the majority of the rest of the us.
Well said Pete. God Bless men
Pete, it's because there are too many people and not enough resources, and If it were just this one issue it may not matter, but I've seen it in WI, MN, Ontario, SD, etc. Anywhere there is a remnant of indigenous who want to live outside the rest of society and do everything the "OLD WAY". I wish it could be that way, I'd like to go out and hunt and fish with no regard for regulations or carrying capacity, but that life is long gone and the sooner we stop trying to pretend it can continue the better.
Information I read many years ago in Fairbanks described it as the hunter finding the den of a hibernating bear, and emphasis on “carefully” reaches in with their hand to find the faint heartbeat. The daring soul then slips a knife blade into the heart and gets the hell out of the way. May not be sporting, but it would save amo and prove you had a huge set of rocks.
JustPassin,
If it were any sort of conservation problem, I would be the first to agree with you. But that is the point, there is no conservation problem at issue here. It's just the almighty USFWS deciding what our hunting "ethics" should be. I'm not alright with that.
If it were a regulation ONLY for indigenous people, I would have a problem with that too. But Alaska wildlife laws/regulations do not discriminate.
All the hyperbole may be for naught now. The Joint Resolution has, thankfully, passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This will effectively return us to allowing wildlife in Alaska, even on USFWS refuges, to be managed by the State of Alaska, not the bureaucrats at USFWS.
Pete
Only instance of den hunting I have heard of is wolves pulling bears from hibernation and having a feast.
I have only ever found one hibernating bear, way cool, but would not have messed with the den, thought never even crossed my mind.
hmmmm oz
For once i agree with the petition........Killing hibernating bears/wolves is simply wrong.....They may need controlled, but their has to be better ways. As a hunter, i cringe when i read stuff like that....Makes us all look like blood thirsty animals...
I agree with JusPassin 100% on his but about accepting "cultural practise" as sacrosanct. On the subject of killing big bears with a spear or knife - I say have at 'er. Long as it is tagged like any other bear hunt As is stated, this isn't some giant slam dunk hunt that's gonna wipe out the bear population, and if it does, then it needs to be reconsidered.
I have to believe that hunting is hunting and either you are for or against it, if you start putting caveats on it than when do you say that rifle hunting or trapping is should be illegal? And then it's all downhill. Sure, hold yourself to your own moral compass, but legal hunting is legal hunting.
" This will effectively return us to allowing wildlife in Alaska, even on USFWS refuges, to be managed by the State of Alaska, not the bureaucrats at USFWS."
Pete, ya nailed it.
WRT legal hunting methods..... that's up to the person hunting, what and how. What you do is up to you. Not a big fan of folks telling others what to do and how they should do it. And not a big fan of reducing or eliminating any hunting method or practice. That's how hound hunting, bear baiting, trapping etc. get shut down, the proverbial slippery slope. Anti's love it though.....
My luck I'd find a grouchy bear with insomnia.
