Anti bear bait initiative in Alaska

[Dand]

I just received a press release from the Gov's office regarding an initiative to prohibit bear baiting:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  June 19, 2003

Lieutenant Governor Certifies Petition Prohibiting Bear Baiting

(Anchorage)--Lieutenant Governor Loren Leman today certified the initiative petition application for "An Act Prohibiting the Baiting or Intentional Feeding of Bears" (03BEAR).  The text of the initiative can be found on the Division of Elections web site at: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/elections/petitions/03bear.htm

If adopted, the maximum penalty for baiting or the intentional feeding of bears will be up to one-year imprisonment and a $10,000 fine, a Class A misdemeanor.

The Division of Elections will prepare and print numbered petition booklets for circulation.  Sponsors will need to gather at least 23, 286 qualified signatures in at least 27 election districts to place this initiative on the 2004 ballot.

The committee sponsors have expressed their willingness to be contacted about the initiative.  They are Lowell Thomas, Jr. (346-3468), George R. Pollard (262-5496), and John E. Erickson (945-3274).

[talon]

Does this potential law involve Hunting, or plain old tourist activity ?

[Dand]

text copied from the original website:

Proposed Bill:



AN ACT PROHIBITING THE BAITING OR INTENTIONAL FEEDING OF BEARS



Be it enacted by the people of the State of Alaska:

Alaska Statutes Title 16 is amended to add a new Section 16.05.781, as follows:

16.05.781. Bating or intentional feeding of bears prohibited.

(a) A person may not bait or intentionally feed a bear for the purpose of hunting, photography, or viewing.


(b) Under this section, to "bait" or "intentionally feed" means to intentionally give, deposit, distribute, discard, scatter or otherwise expose any attractant or edible material in order to attract or enticed bear to enter into, or to remain in , a location or area.


(c) A person who violates this section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
End

*********

This is interesting.  A one problem we do  have is that some fishing lodges are known to toss garbage in certain places  to attract bears for their clients to watch.  That's already illegal and occasionally  an outfit gets caught.

Some folks find the Alaska law allowing baiting of black bears for hunting, a contradiction of the laws prohibiting creating an "attractive nusiance".  Shoot I think in Anchorage, people are prohibited from having bird feeders in the summer due to the black bear problems.  It is a bit of a quandary. Hope all interested parties pay attention and vote.

[dabigmoose]

:roll: Just got off the phone with George R. Pollard (262-5496)
He told me that he was against sport hunting bears with bait
of any kind I asked him about moose and caribou remains from kills
and he gave me the run around on that and said basically he was not for bear hunting. He kept calling it human trash being used to entrap a bear and giving non experienced hunters a chance to shoot bears that they normally wouldnt be able to get to and that they would also shoot brown bears coming to the bait. I tried to give him a different view The baiting of bears helps people and bears  by letting the hunter see many bears and learn how to judge legal mature bears before taking one of them and helps the bear as it keeps the accidental Female (Sow) from being taken and cubs being left to die with out a mother by giving the hunter time to
pick and choose the large (boar)Male bear to be taken.
 George and his group also seem to think that baiting is creating the problem Juvenile Brown Bears on the pennisula attacking tourist in camp grounds.They tend to think the young brownies are learning to be
habituated to human food waste this is not true as baiting ocurrs no where near the camp grounds that these bears frequent.The Soldotna Dump and cannerys do more harm.They are on the same crusade as Canada was
about save the bear for the tourist to view. This group is trying to stop
bear hunting in general and they pecking away at it one piece at a time.
George did say that it would help Alaska if more Bears were seen by camera toting tourist. When asked about the predator problem we have in the villages he danced around it.
People need to call and voice there concern and at least keep up with
it and vote appropriatley.

Dabigmoose

[talon]

Only about 33% of voters do their duty and vote. Some of the others complain about how bad the politicians are, but most citizens just guzzel beer and watch TV and hope the world would pass them by. Which are you?
  I'm from Minnesota where there is only Black Bears and the vast majority of hunting land is forest or swamp, or both. Baiting is about the only way to hunt here. If we had fair chace only, maybe.05% success rate could be attained, but not much more. Certainly the politicians would have to take a pay cut as not much licence money would come in, or come up with another reason to raise taxes to ensure their fat monthly envelope. (Hunting with dogs is against the law, and I really don't know why. Not much is said about that aspect of hunting). However I keep my ears open and actively jaw bone any proposal to existing laws, eather for or against. And VOTE. Because I know every tree hugger, anti-gunner, and anti-hunter certainly will.

[bearhuntr]

Dabigmoose,
Geo. Pollard has made his livelyhood off of "greens" out of the lower 48, taking them bear viewing and sight-seeing, for many years! Is it a wonder that he holds to the stance he has? The retoric he and others espouse is nothing more than the "party line" for any (most!) animal rights, anti hunting organization in the nation. The battle has just began, yet I fear for Alaska as a whole. Emotions tend to carry the day over simple common sense anymore! To combat this attack (just what I see it as) all hunters of all persuasions must get behind each other and contact all of their friends as regards the forthcoming petition. The battle lines are now drawn. Will we flee or stand and fight? I'm not waiting for others...I'm fighting!
best,
bhtr