Kasey’s Cure

A resent analysis of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ data from the first three years of bear hunting in the state, reveals that nearly one in every five bears killed by trophy hunters has been a cub.

Most states that allow bear hunting—including neighboring Virginia and West Virginia—prohibit the hunting of cubs, but Maryland’s bear hunt has taken cubs as small as 54 pounds and as young as a half-year old.

I can think of no good reason to shoot bears for their heads or their hides. And my own home state is adding insult to injury by killing young, dependent animals who have yet to develop any skills to evade a hunter,

In Maryland’s first three bear hunts after a half-century of protection, a staggering 18 cubs were killed – three in 2004, four in 2005, and 11 in 2006 – out of 101 bears taken by trophy hunters. Maryland’s 2007 black bear hunt ended last month with the death of 51 bears - data from this hunt has not yet been released.
<