AR-News: (US-MD) BEAR HUNT CAN LEAD TO "GRIZZLY" ACCIDENTS, WARNS FUND FOR ANIMALS

[Tracey McIntire]

For Immediate Release

BEAR HUNT CAN LEAD TO 
GRIZZLY
 ACCIDENTS, WARNS FUND FOR ANIMALS

SILVER SPRING, MD (June 8, 2004)  In the wake of a deadly bear hunting 
accident in western Montanas Swan Valley, The Fund for Animals is 
warning residents of Maryland that the states first black bear hunt in 
50 years, planned for this October, could lead to similar fatalities. A 
21-year-old student from Michigan died last week after apparently 
shooting himself while bear hunting.


There has never been a single bear attack on a person in Maryland, yet 
each year in our state there are dozens of serious injuries and even 
some fatalities caused by hunting,
 said Michael Markarian, President of 
The Fund for Animals. 
The threat to public safety is not coming from 
black bears, but rather the expansion of trophy hunting.


The Maryland black bear population, once hunted to near extinction, is 
now estimated by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to be between 
266 and 437 bears. Governor Ehrlich and the DNR approved a bear hunt to 
take place in October, despite a lack of scientific studies on how the 
hunt would impact the bear population and a lack of analysis of black 
bear habitat needs.

The Fund for Animals and the Humane Society of the United States have 
appealed to the Governor and the DNR to call off the bear hunt and have 
offered $75,000 to augment the states educational programs teaching 
people to solve bear conflicts, and to compensate farmers fully for 
agricultural damage caused by bears. The offer has not been accepted.


Trying to solve bear conflicts through hunting is like trying to reduce 
crime by shooting into a crowded room,
 said Markarian. 
Humane 
solutions are readily available to solve the minor conflicts caused by 
bears. Governor Ehrlich and the DNR should choose public safety over 
trophy hunting, and should call off the bear hunt before placing both 
bears and people in jeopardy.


For more information on the campaign to save Maryland black bears, 
please visit www.MarylandBears.com.