General Discussion

babylonsister

(171,102 posts) Thu Aug 4, 2016, 01:25 PM Aug 2016

Obama administration grounds aerial hunting, other inhumane predator-killing practices...

http://blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2016/08/breaking-news-obama-administration-grounds-aerial-hunting-inhumane-predator-killing-practices-refuges-alaska.html

The new protective regulations announced today by USFWS will protect grizzly bears from some of the most wanton and misguided methods of killing them, as well as black bears, wolves, and coyotes on our public lands in Alaska . Photo by Alamy

Breaking news: Obama administration grounds aerial hunting, other inhumane predator-killing practices on refuges in Alaska
August 3, 2016

This is a landmark day for some of the nation’s most majestic, recognizable, and woefully mistreated wild animals. And “landmark” barely says enough.

I’m delighted to report that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has followed the National Park Service in prohibiting some of the most wanton and misguided methods utilized to slaughter grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, and coyotes on our public lands in Alaska. The new protective regulations were promulgated this day, and cover all of Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges.

These are vast lands, in many ways among the most important wildlands remaining in the world, and they belong to all 300 million-plus Americans. Each of us holds a piece of the deed to these 76-million refuge acres.

With ownership comes responsibility. Meaning that each of us is responsible for the management—the treatment—of the animals who live on these lands.

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Back in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt designated Pelican Island in Florida as the inaugural national wildlife refuge. Today, there are more than 560 refuges and related wetland management districts. They encompass an area of 150 million acres.

Alaskan refuges account for just over half that total. Together, they are an endowment we share, and which we all pay to support. The animals who live there deserve better than they have been receiving. I’m happy that they’re getting a real measure of protective justice now, and I send our thanks to President Obama and his U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for adopting this new, humane, scientifically-sound, and ecologically-minded policy.