Sherlin letter: Baiting bears

Reference Dave Silva’s letter regarding bears. Per Idaho Fish and Game, baiting bears is acceptable. Hunters are baiting bears with cooking grease, doughnuts, freezer burned/rotten meat and more in close proximity to U.S. Forest Service campgrounds. So, it is OK to “lure” bears with human food and get them accustomed to eating the bait. But wait, when campers cook hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks and the like, it is not OK for the bears to cross the line, enter the campground and eat the human food used as bait a mere 1-2 miles away. Signs posted in campgrounds inform campers of “bears in the area” and “store your food properly.” Why are there bears in the area? Because they are being baited throughout the forest. When is Idaho going to stop the barbaric practice of baiting and hunting bears in the spring when sows have cubs? Perhaps Idaho Fish & Game should allow elk/deer hunting in the spring when cow elk have calves and does have fawns. Additionally, Fish and Game needs a transfusion of new blood to the Good Ol’ Boys club and have 1-2 female commissioners who just may have input on better ways to manage our wildlife.

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Sherlin letter: Baiting bears."