McElligott letter: Save wildlife

A shocking piece of legislation is awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate. This legislation, S.J. Res. 18, would allow free rein to hunters in national wildlife refuges in Alaska to shoot hibernating mother bears, coyotes and wolves and their dependent cubs in their dens; to indiscriminately shoot grizzly bears from airplanes; and to trap bears with painful, steel-jawed leghold traps with wire snares, and shoot bears point blank by luring them with rotting meat.

Is this what we want to see happening in our federal wildlife lands? Wildlife refuges should be just that: refuges for wildlife. Wildlife watchers should be able to continue visiting this beautiful land to see the amazing wildlife in their natural habitat; this amazing land should not be turned into a trophy-hunting arena.

Please make your voice heard against this atrocious legislation by calling Sens. James Risch at (208) 342-7985 and Mike Crapo at (208) 334-1776 and ask them to vote “no” to S.J. Res. 18.

This legislation has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives and it is essential to make our voices heard for the animals.

This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 6:06 PM with the headline "McElligott letter: Save wildlife."