Bear Baiting - Sample Letter to Your Legislator #4

(Remember to edit this letter and make it your own. Letters make a bigger impact on legislators if they are not identical to others.)

[Date]

Dear [Legislator’s Name],

I am writing to urge you to support ending the egregious and inhumane practice of bear baiting which continues to take place in [Your State]’s woods every hunting season. Luring in unsuspecting bears with piles of garbage, usually barrels of rotting meat and stale pizza, and then ambushing these defenseless animals as they eat is not “hunting,” and it should no longer be tolerated.  

There is neither skill nor sport in eliminating an animal’s ability to elude or evade stepping into the line of fire. Decidedly tilting the advantage to the hunter not only violates the spirit of the traditional hunting ethic, but it demonstrates a gross cowardice and lack of integrity. 

The federal government bans the baiting of migratory birds because it's unfair.  Most states ban the baiting of deer and elk and other big game for the same reason. There's no logical reason to allow such an unfair practice to persist in bear hunting.

In addition to its suspect ethics, this practice contributes to a proliferation of public safety concerns. 

Some bears feed at these troughs for days before taking a bullet, while others, deemed unworthy of hanging in someone's living room, can dine for the entire hunting season. Equipped with keen memories of food sources, these opportunistic feeders search far and wide for this new food source once the hunting season comes to an end - heightening the risk of bear-human conflicts. Once accustomed to looking for food around humans, bears can lose their natural fear of man, and often become a “nuisance,” left wandering into neighborhoods and upending garbage cans looking for easy meals. 

The U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service all discourage the feeding of bears, yet baiters are afforded a double standard to further stock their trophy rooms. 

Nothing is sportsmanlike about this sure-thing approach to the outdoors. The baiting of bears is a practice that ought to be halted immediately.

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Address]