Wildlife Hearing
There were fifty things on the agenda, the 16th one has to do with bears. I commented saying that they need to define an 'adult bear', that baiting stations need removed 10 days prior to the hunt and expressed the desire that legislation institute a lottery system as they classify bear as game.
I'm a veteran, I know what it is to be hunted. It's not pleasant. With a small population of bear, Oklahoma shouldn't even yet consider a hunt. I heard stated that over 300 instances of predation and then pointed out that those instances occurred over the entire 18 years of records, and the official had to fess up that, yes, there are only a few cases a year. Those are generally bears getting into pet food, there's been not a single chicken, not a single apiary which has been gotten by bears in Oklahoma in 18 years. The fact is there has been little predation, only one case of serious predation where a hog was killed and the bears fates were death by Wildlife official.
I spoke but I was only one voice and required to state I was from a bear conservation group, after my voice was four other voices saying 'its a good thing, lets shoot the bears' seriously, that is what was said verbatim. So, now it must go before legislation, this is where it will take much more effort to influence the legislators that it is in the best interest of the state to proceed very carefully when considering bear as a game animal.
They will still take input until the 16th and have a way to do that online on the oklahomawildlifedepartment website. Please, bears help the ecosystem, promote new growth, get rid of insect infestations, spread seeds of fruit bearing plants. Make one of the meetings, they will only last about an hour. If a loud voice isn't heard, bears will likely be decimated in the state and it can take ten years to recover from the manners they wish to conduct this hunt in.
They are going to allow you to have baiting stations, let you sit and choose among the bears who will be within a few yards of the hunter trying to eat the bait and the hunters can shoot just like shooting fish in a barrel, a 'Turkey Shoot' . I've said my part but there were others who were just saying 'a good idea, let's hunt the bears'
I'm a veteran, I know what it is to be hunted. It's not pleasant. With a small population of bear, Oklahoma shouldn't even yet consider a hunt. I heard stated that over 300 instances of predation and then pointed out that those instances occurred over the entire 18 years of records, and the official had to fess up that, yes, there are only a few cases a year. Those are generally bears getting into pet food, there's been not a single chicken, not a single apiary which has been gotten by bears in Oklahoma in 18 years. The fact is there has been little predation, only one case of serious predation where a hog was killed and the bears fates were death by Wildlife official.
I spoke but I was only one voice and required to state I was from a bear conservation group, after my voice was four other voices saying 'its a good thing, lets shoot the bears' seriously, that is what was said verbatim. So, now it must go before legislation, this is where it will take much more effort to influence the legislators that it is in the best interest of the state to proceed very carefully when considering bear as a game animal.
They will still take input until the 16th and have a way to do that online on the oklahomawildlifedepartment website. Please, bears help the ecosystem, promote new growth, get rid of insect infestations, spread seeds of fruit bearing plants. Make one of the meetings, they will only last about an hour. If a loud voice isn't heard, bears will likely be decimated in the state and it can take ten years to recover from the manners they wish to conduct this hunt in.
They are going to allow you to have baiting stations, let you sit and choose among the bears who will be within a few yards of the hunter trying to eat the bait and the hunters can shoot just like shooting fish in a barrel, a 'Turkey Shoot' . I've said my part but there were others who were just saying 'a good idea, let's hunt the bears'