A “trophy” black bear hunt will begin on October 24. This year the hunt has been expanded to include all of Allegany, Frederick, Garrett, and Washington counties.
Unless there is a hue and cry from citizens of Maryland and reasonable people everywhere, the killing will go on.
There is no need to decrease the bear population, and the bears are neither overly destructive nor dangerous. The appearance of black bears in places they have not usually been seen is doubtless a result of climate change that is altering natural ecosystems, which changes the way animals live, migrate, eat and grow.
From 2004 through 2015, 758 bears (82 were cubs) have been killed. This bear hunt is an atrocity at any time, but it is biologically reckless at a time when at least one fourth of the world's mammals face extinction.
In the words of Pope Francis in his encyclical letter, "If we approach nature and the environment without openness to awe and wonder, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, and ruthless exploiters."
Claim the bears as your own, and speak for them. They too have a language, the language of another nation.
