California Senate Bill 252 proposes the end to hunting black bears in that state. Yeah, you read that correctly, zero hunting of black bears in California. That is not to say that bears will not be “managed”, as bears that come into conflict with public safety or livestock will be killed by the state of California and with a growing bear population this will add up to a lot of bears.
So, let me get this straight, and yes, this will be a bit of a rant. The state of California is going to put more burden on its taxpayers by paying government sanctioned shooters to eliminate bears that hunters would gladly pay to do? Genius! Why don’t other states do that? Here’s why…
With its current 1700 bear quota California nets around $1.39 million in revenue from tag sales and Pittman Robertson Act monies. As we sportsmen know that money doesn’t just benefit bears, it goes to a much broader fund earmarked for conservation by the state. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation at work. Question answered? Not really.
You see the reason that California is willing to turn their backs on that money is that “public opinion polls” show that the majority of the state’s residents disapprove of bear hunting as they are a “charismatic species”. So this is basically the same reasoning that grizzly hunting was banned in British Columbia… feelings! Not science, feelings! Did I mention that the lead sponsor on this bill is the Humane Society of the United States? That alone should make this bill suspect and the fact that it’s yet another step down the slippery slope of throwing sound wildlife management out the window because reality is scary and uncomfortable.
So what’s next? It’s not much of a stretch to see where all this is going or will be going if 252 passes. The Humane Society will push for more and more predator hunting bans across more and more states citing “public opinion polls”. It has started with predators and mark my words, will end with all sport hunting.
Elk, deer, antelope, upland birds and waterfowl… the goal is to end all hunting and it is accomplished by taking small bites of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation elephant over a long period of time. Pay attention folks, they take away predator hunting and trapping first but they will not end there.
If you are a California resident you need to be contacting your State Senators and Representatives and let them know that Bill 252 is a bad idea. Unless you’re comfortable with banning black bear hunting and if that’s the case don’t whine when you can no longer hunt anything in the Golden State.
UPDATE: Due to massive pressure from the hunting community this bill is no longer up for consideration.
11 comments
Fuck California
Yup
I agree with Robert…..
That is exactly their plan! They (HSUS) work at take away one little chunk at a time. Because eliminating hunting altogether would be such a big undertaking they take little baby steps over time to accomplish the same goal. Don’t be fooled by this BS tactic. They did it in Canada and they did it in Oregon through ballot initiative. Sound science must be the sole determining factor for management of game species. Once public opinion or “feelings” get involved it isn’t hard to get an agenda through the system because there are more people who do not hunt then do. Sierra Club. HSUS, and other “eco-wildlife protection agenda driven agencies” use this tactic all over the place. All hunters need to make their voices heard and contact your state legislatures for your particular district and voice your opinion based on sound science, dollars, and reasoning.
HSUS .. 1% to the animals they say they protect!! Most $$ to the CEO and board members and high $ staff!! A S ton to politicians Ie; Ted Lieu..Congressman REFUGEE from Taiwan!!! Frigin Dog eater!!
Jyst sayin!!
Californian born and raised!! Grew up farming, Ranching and hunting!! They outlawed hound hunting in 2012 with the UTMOST help of the HSUS!! No vote from WE THE PEOPLE! Just handed down!! The bear population exploded EXPONENTIALLY before I left in 2016’!! Hope all left tards and idiots that want MORE BEARS get jus what they want when going to the woods!! Jyst sayin’! Good luck!!!
They are indeed taking an incremental approach. A little bit at a time, and then one day deer and quail hunting are gone. And yes, this is a systematic plan by the Humane Society. This is no longer the state I grew up in. Very stupid people are running it, sadly. As hunters we have a moral obligation to push back on this stupidity.
Exactly, as a Hunter Education Instructor for over 25 years, I was seeing this coming and even had warnings from DFG brass that this is exactly what they had in mind. I don’t know why all the firearms owners and hunters can’t corroborate and drive these idiots out of office let alone the U.S. The idiots passing these bills know nothing about conservation or species that need management. They don’t give one damn about the animals, it’s all about greed and how much they can put in their pockets. They willy nilly make changes to our gasoline that they say will make it better for the environment, remember MTBE, that was a push by finswine and her piglets, only to find out that oops, it’s worse than our old gas and has polluted our drinking water, and was all done to save money on hazardous waste fees. Was the idiot made to pay to clean it up or pay a fine for destroying our drinking water? NO! So here we are again fighting with brainless idiots that some how had enough money to get voted into office so they could get even richer of us peasants! They don’t give a damn about us it’s all about the money!
Greed is their god! Welcome to Kommieforniastan!
I think we are getting a little bit off base here by blaming and accusing. The truth as I see it their are a lot of people who really love animals and don’t like to see them killed, plain and simple. What they don’t realize is that those same animals loose there fear of humans, you then find them in peoples backyards and on hiking trails. I am mainly talking about bears and cougars and coyotes who often kill pets. We need to voice and join together as hunters to emphasize the importance of keeping all animals in check. Lets keep the money out of it, it’s all about balance.
They did the same thing with cats now we are over run by them in Trinity CA.I have way to many bears ripping my fruit trees apart and killing my chickens