Timber farm bear hunts in Washington may be canceled this year
Bears are hungry after hibernation and trees offer a quick and sugary snack. By peeling tree bark to get to the sweet layer underneath, bears damage trees and timber farmers blame them for expensive damage every year.
It's why bear hunts happen every spring on commercial timber farms to keep bears from damaging trees, but KING 5 found the hunters use dogs, bait, and traps, which are methods banned by Washington voters two decades ago.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife permits the hunts through the Bear Timber Depredation Management Program. Critics believe it violates state law.
"It is also interesting because really only 25 percent of the animals being killed based on these permits in this program actually have any bark in their system. So, we are not necessarily killing bears that are actually causing the problem, and there is no evidence that killing those bears is helping the problem in any manner," said Sophia Wressler.
Wressler is an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, the group suing the state after an investigation KING 5 aired two years ago. The lawsuit claims the state is allowing hunting practices that violate Initiative 655.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/timber-farm-bear-hunts-in-washington-may-be-canceled-this-year/ar-BBTt8I4
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