[Michael]

From an e-mail I received...<br><br><br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">The Associated Press has reported that U.S. Representative Jim Moran (D-VA) has vowed to introduce legislation to ban the unsporting and irresponsible practice of bear baiting on federal lands. Bear baiting, which involves leaving caches of food (donuts, pizza, grease, and rotting meats) for hungry bears while hunters lie in wait, is currently legal in just nine states: Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Alaska. Ironically,<br><br>
federal land managers allow baiting even though they all have policies declaring that bear feeding is harmful to people and bears. Please contact your federal legislators and ask them to cosponsor legislation to ban bear baiting on federal lands. Take action by visiting:<br><br><br><br><a href="http://action.fund.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=1431" target="_blank">http://action.fund.org/action/index....ep=2&item=1431</a></div>
</div>
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Includes a form that will automatically send the letter to your senator and state representative - you don't even need to know who they are, it figures them out by the state you enter.

 

[GhostUser]

my mom lives in chesapeake, va right where they were doing all that bear baiting and she has been fighting this for years. i never seen my mom so happy that finally someone high up is fighting it too.!!! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[GhostUser]

Wow. They should make all action forms that easy. I've forwarded it to 5 of my friends and asked them to forward it on.

 

[Tame]

I have not bear baited since I was a teen. Oh, wait a minute. You said "bear". Oops! Wrong topic. Carry on! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/pimp.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":tame:">

 

[GhostUser]

This is a perfect example of misguided legislation. Rather than attacking the meat industry and slaughterhouses which torture and mangle millions upon millions of animals, the politicians go after a tiny group of hunters who have been stereotyped as redneck yahoos. Here are some facts about bear baiting you may not know.<br><br><br><br>
Properly done, baiting need only involve a small amount of bait half-buried in a hole and a scent bag hung in a tree. No 55 gallon drums are required, and if that's the problem it CAN be remedied without a ban. There are already many state and federal restrictions on how and where bait must be placed.<br><br><br><br>
Baiting allows hunters to survey a number of bears at close range before deciding which one to kill. This ensures that sows are not killed, and that only older males are. Older males are both the most sought-after by hunters and the least useful to the bear population, as they kill cubs and younger males. In fact, there's a good deal of evidence that killing the older males INCREASES bear population, since it frees up a lot of territory for smaller bears and decreases the risks to cubs. Hunting by spot-and-stalk can be done, but it is far more difficult and there's a much greater chance of killing a sow or a younger male. It's often very difficult to tell age and sex of black bears when viewing from a distance. If you want more bear in an area, hunting over bait is the way to go.<br><br><br><br>
Baiting allows hunters to use bows, which are less disruptive and dangerous than high-powered rifles. Yet at close range they kill just as well, with less chance of a serious maiming. Modern arrows don't lacerate, they cut like razors. A shot through the heart and lungs with one is just as fatal as a bullet, with virtually no damage to hide or meat. Conversely, an accidental shot through the skin or muscle is less likely to result in permanent injury, especially in light of how amazingly tough black bear are.<br><br><br><br>
If you have visions of five fat men in a tree drinking beer over drums of suet, you are a victim of propaganda. In reality, you've got to be absolutely silent and wear scent-guarding camo clothing to have much of a chance. Even then they can detect you if you're not careful. You dare not even pee anywhere near the place, and you walk in from behind and downwind. Bear, especially black bear, are sharp as tacks. They also have a sense of smell that's better than any dog's. They can smell footprints, sweat, and probably even what's inside your body and what you ate last week. Setting up and using a stand over bait is a complicated process involving months of preparation. It's not something Joe Sixpack and his five fat buddies are going to be able to do after watching football.<br><br><br><br>
I can understand being opposed to hunting on ethical or religious grounds. But frankly, there is NO COMPARISON between the few seconds of pain after enjoying a last meal of wonderful foods that's delivered in a hunt and the lifetime of suffering and torture delivered by the meat industry. I think we can all agree on this. So why don't we see bills to break up the meat industry? Obviously, because it's so much easier to divert everyone's attention by smacking the rednecks.

 

[Robert]

As someone quite familiar with hunting (I used to hunt regularly at one point). My take on it is this... baiting is NOT hunting. If you are baiting animals, animals consider it "free food" and remember where they got it. All you're doing at that point is shooting a pet.<br><br><br><br>
Hunting involves skill. You learn the animal's habits, learn how to track, etc. Sitting in some blind or in some tree and waiting for the animal to come by for the expected free food and then shooting it is ambushing. It's hardly "hunting".<br><br><br><br>
I have absolutely no problem with outlawing the practice of baiting.<br><br><br><br>
My $0.02

 

[GhostUser]

Robert--have you ever tried hunting bear from a stand? I WISH it was as easy as you make it sound! ;-)<br><br><br><br>
Even up here, with so many thousands of bear, it's tough. These aren't deer we're talking about. They're very clever animals.<br><br><br><br>
I think you're thinking of garbage bears, which nobody hunts anyway.

 

[Robert]

Cosmoline, well, I don't want this to get off-topic, but if you'd like to bring a thread up within the Compost Heap forum, I'll gladly carry a discussion there with you if you like.

 

[GhostUser]

I thought the topic was hunting bear over bait.

 

[GhostUser]

Actually, this catagory 'Activism and Action Alerts' is in the support forum. We really don't have debates or whatever in these support forums. They are really just for discussion and comments. The compost heap though, now that's another story. Sometimes that a free for all.......you can get into a really heated debate there. I think that's why Robert invited you to continue it over there. He probably senses that this is a topic he feels stongly enough about not to carry on here. (thank Robert <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""> )

 

[GhostUser]

I just found the heap. I'm going to repost some thoughts over there.