The Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners will hear a petition this Friday, February 1st, seeking to ban the hunting of bears with hounds in the state. Nevada sportsmen are encouraged to attend the meeting and to submit comments to the Commissioners supporting bear hunting with hounds.
Friday’s Commissioners’ meeting will be held at the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas located at 309 South Valley View Boulevard. The meeting is slated to being at 9:30 a.m. The bear hunting ban is fifth on the Commissioners’ agenda.
The petition was first discussed by the Commissioners’ at their meeting in Reno on December 8th. At that meeting, a decision on the petition was postponed because not all of petition had been posted online.
“The anti-hunting groups pushing this petition are once again trying to pack the meeting in hopes of ramming through their anti-hunting agenda,” said Jeremy Rine, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance in-house counsel. “Sportsmen need to attend the meeting and speak up to show their support for this important hunting tradition. A ban on hunting bears with dogs is just the first step of a larger agenda aimed at shutting down all hunting.”
Groups supporting the hunting ban include: the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), No Bear Hunt Nevada, Nevada Political Action for Animals, The Bear League, Nevada Humane Society, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Nevada established their new bear hunting season in 2011 after studies showed that Nevada’s bear population was sustainable and growing. Bear hunting with hounds is the most effective bear management tool available to manage the state’s bear population. Eight-five percent of the bears taken during the 2011 season were with the aid of dogs.
If the petition is accepted by the Commissioners on Friday, they will then start a formal process to determine whether or not they should ban bear hunting with hounds.
This proposal comes on the heels of the HSUS and other anti-hunting organizations pushing through a ban on bear hunting with hounds in California despite overwhelming opposition.
Take Action! Nevada sportsmen should plan to attend Saturday’s hearing and speak out in support of bear hunting with hounds. Nevada sportsmen should also submit comments supporting bear hunting with hounds by emailing them to sscourby@ndow.org.
