AR-News: (US-MD) Maryland Rejects $75, 000 Offer to Cancel Bear Hunt

[Tracey McIntire]

For Immediate Release

Maryland Rejects $75,000 Offer to Cancel Bear Hunt

State Chooses Trophy Hunting Over Compensating Farmers, Solving Conflicts

Annapolis, MD (April 14, 2004)  The Fund for Animals and The Humane 
Society of the United States learned today that the Maryland Department 
of Natural Resources (DNR) has rejected a substantial financial offer 
for solving bear conflicts and compensating farmers for bear damage. In 
a March 17 letter, the two organizations offered collectively to provide 
$75,000 to compensate farmers for bear damage and expand educational 
programs to solve bear conflicts, if the DNRs plan for the first bear 
hunt in fifty years was withdrawn.

Bear damage to agricultural crops is approximately $10,000 to $40,000 
annually. Had the DNR accepted this offer from the animal protection 
groups, Maryland farmers would be compensated fully for bear damage for 
the first time, and additional funds would be available to expand the 
DNRs existing educational programs and responses to bear nuisance 
complaints.

It is clear that the DNR is not seeking to solve bear conflicts in 
western Maryland, but simply to put bears in trophy hunters sights, 
said Michael Markarian, President of The Fund for Animals, based in 
Silver Spring, Maryland. Hunting bears for trophies or rugs will not 
provide money to farmers and will not provide the relief that citizens 
are demanding. Governor Ehrlichs administration should look for 
constructive solutions and new funding partnerships, not trophy hunting 
opportunities.

The DNR estimates that the bear population in Maryland is only 266 to 
437 animals. Last week, three members of Marylands U.S. Congressional 
delegationChris Van Hollen (D-8), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-3), and Elijah 
E. Cummings (D-7)wrote to Governor Ehrlich and the DNR expressing their 
grave concern over the State of Marylands plans to allow black bear 
hunting to begin this October, for the first time in half a century.

There are fewer black bears in Maryland than there are pandas in China 
or endangered grizzly bears in Montana, said Wayne Pacelle, a senior 
vice president for The Humane Society of the United States, based in 
Gaithersburg, Maryland. The relatively few conflicts that occur can 
easily be solved by providing money to farmers and teaching people how 
to store food and trash properly. The DNRs rejection of this generous 
offer makes it plain that this hunt was never about solving bear-human 
conflicts, and entirely about appeasing the NRA and other trophy hunting 
groups.

A copy of the offer from the two groups is available at: 
www.MarylandBears.com/about/75koffer.cfm

More information: www.MarylandBears.com