Maryland's Trophy Hunt of Black Bears |
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©Wade Henry |
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This 2002 postage stamp raised funds for peaceful resolution of human-bear conflicts in Maryland. |
Though bear hunt proponents claim a hunt will reduce the growing bear population and reduce bear-human conflicts, Maryland's bear hunt is nothing more than a trophy hunt for heads and hides.
One hunter even stated that he only applied for a bear hunt permit because his wife had asked him for a bearskin rug.
While former Governor Ehrlich initiated the bear hunt in 2004 as a favor to his trophy hunting buddies who had helped elect him, Maryland's current governor, Governor O'Malley, stands to gain nothing by continuing Ehrlich's legacy of killing our bears.
Back From the Brink of Extinction
Maryland's bears nearly went extinct because of over-zealous trophy hunters and indiscriminate killing at the beginning of the 20th century. By 1953, hunters had reduced the number of bears in the state to only 12, at which point hunting was halted.
The bears' recovery was slow. In 1972, the black bear was declared an endangered species in the state and until recently bears were not often seen in the state, even in western Garrett and Alleghany counties.
It is too soon to know what impact trophy hunting will have on the health and stability of Maryland's bear population.
Not a Solution to Conflicts
The Department of Natural Resources admits that it doesn't know with any degree of certainty how many bears even live in the state. The last meaningful study, conducted in 2004 before the hunts, revealed that there were between 266 and 437 bears living in western Maryland—not a very large population.
The DNR also fails to explain how shooting bears at random will reduce conflicts with bears. The short answer is, it won't. Shooting bears at random is as effective at reducing bear-human conflicts as shooting into a crowded street is at reducing crime.
The so-called problem bears live near urban or suburban area, venturing near homes and raiding garbage cans. They are usually young males—not the large trophy bears, like the 615-pound bear killed on the first day of this year's hunt.
The most effective methods shown to alleviate human-bear conflicts are non-lethal techniques carried out by officials that condition bears to avoid humans. Data even suggests that hunting actually increases the number of bear-human conflicts.
Ignoring Effective Solutions at the Insistence of Trophy Hunters
Governor O'Malley is allowing Maryland to be steered into the past, relying on outdated and ineffective means of dealing with bears. Other states with much larger bear populations than Maryland—including New Jersey and Florida—which each have roughly 1500 bears, manage bears through non-lethal alternatives to hunting.
New Jersey recently cancelled its bear hunt in favor of non-lethal forms of dealing with bear-human conflicts.
In 2004, The HSUS and the Fund For Animals offered Maryland $75,000 to compensate landowners for any damage caused by bears if the hunt were called off. The good-faith offer was flatly rejected.
What You Can Do
It's too late to help the bears killed in this year's trophy hunt, but you can still call Governor O'Malley at (410) 974-3901 and ask him to cancel next year's senseless hunt.
See the Video
Bear Baiting
Bear Hounding
Related Links
The Toll from Maryland's Bear Hunt
Un-Bearable Trophy Hunting
Bear Baiting: Donuts and Bullets
Hounding Bears to Death
Maryland Activists Present the Bear Facts to Governor Ehrlich
Maryland's Black Bear Hunt: Back and Worse Than Ever
