I want to voice my opposition to Senate Bill 252 banning black bear hunting. I do not personally hunt black bears, but I know that our state's wildlife benefit from using hunting as a management tool.
The experts in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife already manage black bear hunting and ensure only a limited number of bears can be taken each year. The biologists of the CDFW number set the quota to ensure that the number of bears taken is in line with the state's environmental goals.
The management and take of black bears should be left to the environmental agencies of our states who rely on data and science, not politicians who rely on the will of their constituents who, while well meaning, do not understand carrying capacity and the realities of managing a diverse ecosystem. Take of mountain lions was prohibited years ago by statute, and in opposition to the biological data, and it has been devastating to deer populations. The state is now paying state employees to hunt the animals rather than take the revenue from licenses to take the same animals because prohibiting recreational hunting of mountain lions has not obviated the need to keep their populations in check to protect other wildlife. The same will happen with bears if this law passes.
