A Maryland circuit court judge has removed two anti-hunting groups from a case that challenges black bear hunting regulations.
Circuit Court Judge Thomas Smith, Prince George"s County, has granted the state"s motion to dismiss the Fund for Animals and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) from the case. The anti-hunting groups failed to demonstrate to the court how they will be affected by the black bear hunt. Three local anti-hunting plaintiffs remain in the case.
"The anti-hunting groups had charged that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources had violated state law by not setting seasons and bag limits by an April deadline," said Rob Sexton, U.S. Sportsmen"s Alliance Foundation vice president for government affairs. "Judge Smith stated that the deadline was merely a guideline. Setting season dates and bag limits at a later date did not cause harm to the plaintiffs, but he stated that stopping the hunt would cause harm to potential bear hunters."
The anti"s other argument was that state wildlife biologists were wrong in their assessment of the bear population. Judge Smith ruled that the agency gave "due regard" to science on population figures and other biological factors and deferred to the wildlife agency"s expertise on the matter.
The U.S. Sportsmen"s Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) and the Maryland Sportsmen"s Association filed to intervene in the case on behalf of sportsmen. While awaiting the judge"s decision, both groups have been working with the Maryland Attorney General"s office on the case.
On October 18, 2004, Judge Smith denied a request from anti-hunters for an injunction to stop the 2004 bear hunt. The season opened on October 25 and lasted a single day.
The Department of Natural Resources had established a harvest objective of 30 bears and 20 were taken on opening day. Wildlife experts were concerned that a second day of hunting would put them over the target and possibly jeopardize future hunts.
Biologists say the hunt is needed to help reduce western Maryland"s skyrocketing black bear population. There has been a recent increase in human-bear conflicts in the state.
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Good news! Funny how the anti's claim there aren't many bears around, yet the quota was nearly reached in a single day! Obviously, science is winning out over emotion in Maryland, which is a pretty rare thing. Thank God for Ehrlich & Company!
I would expect that unless there is a continuing program of Bear seasons with an increased bag limit, that the Bear population will increase beyond the available territorys ability to support the Bears. Bears have this habit of being canabilistic, the older males killing and eating the younger ones (<2 years old) which tends to keep the population in check. Hunting pressure on a continuing basis will kill off a significant portion of the larger males thus insuring more of the young ones living to maturity and the over all population increasing. If population control is the sole purpose of the hunt, it is doomed to failure.
Regardless, the HSUS and the Fund for Animals should be disbanded and any remaining funds they may have turned over to the various states to reimburse them for the countless dollars spent on these stupid court cases.
Here's some Hunting Politics
