Free Republic

Bear Hunting can be Controversial, but this Sportsman Loves it - The thing they really can't comprehend is my infatuation with bears and the fact that I like hunting them. It hasn’t always been that way, but over the 20-plus years I’ve been here it has become so – even more this year – and it’s not only me. My best bud Lew has the fever as well. We just absolutely love it! Yeah, it’s crazy and there’s really no simple reason why. I’ve tried to explain it, but can’t. Not really. I guess the passion came from a combination...

These guys from Moxie Gore Guide Service (Maine, US) came upon a bear up in a tree. Probably the first thing is if you weren’t hunting bear then stay clear of it. If you are, shoot it down. Not sure why this hunter was hanging out below the bear. Bear commenced to download drops of "giant poop" upon this poor hunter. Obviously, this turned out to be not just a crappy day but a fun one for everyone, not sure what happened to this bear. How many of you all have caught a bear up in a tree? See the...

This bear hunting incident is a reminder: this is serious business. This bear hunting video will hopefully teach you to always approach an animal slowly after you attempt to harvest it, especially a black bear. Even though these folks were hunting with hounds, the dogs weren't enough to initially fend off this angry black bear. The bear ended up latching on to the lower torso of the hunter who approached it, leaving some fierce marks that will surely scar. Even though this black bear was shot three times and fell nearly 30 feet, it still didn't die. Unfortunately, this hunter...

Spear hunting sounds primitive but lately has come under fire from some who feel it is too brutal. Spear hunter Michel Blanchett has been spear hunting for 7 years. He claims this primitive way of hunting is the most ethical as it pits you against your game at close range with one throw to get your game. This type of hunting is for the elite hunter This allows game to have a better chance against a hunter than it would against a long distance rifle shooter or even a modern archery armed hunter. What is your stance on spear hunting?...

The words of excitement from Josh Bowmar of Bowmar Bowhunting after he speared a bear. Here's the crazy part: he did it with no blind, no guide, no backup weapon and from the ground, all on film. Here's Josh comment: "I wanted to spear a bear without back up and the entire time we were there, the guide was telling me basically I was crazy because they had just recently heard of a guy being mauled by a bear. With that, I agreed, and every other time we hunted, we had a guide with us who carried a shotgun. However...

So how many of you have had a bear climbed up into your treestand? If you did encounter such occasions, how did you all reacted? This brave hunter had a bear climbed up his stand while he was video recording this, see his reaction here.

Bear hunting this drainage while off-duty, CDFW fisheries biologist Tim Hovey's most valuable possession turned out not to be the rifle slung on his pack, but his quick wits and the .357 (below) holstered on his side during an encounter with three shady characters.This time I'd be hiking for pleasure, and with a bear tag in my pocket I wasn’t going to be counting frogs. With over 2 miles of hiking ahead of me, I loaded my pack with my game-processing gear, some water and called it good. I strapped my rifle to the outside of the pack, locked up...

As a massive hockey fan as I am, I have become fascinated with the penalty box, the Ryker's Island of sports, in reality a jail cell where offending hockey players are sentenced in two- to 10-minute increments for charges ranging from cross checking to hooking, slashing to holding the stick (no jokes intended). When you are guilty of said crimes, your pays the price and has to trudge on - a man down mind you – while the player must sit and watch in timeout in a tiny, isolated space. It's one reason why I enjoy hockey so much. Think...

SORRENTO -- Florida's first statewide black bear hunt in 21 years is set to begin Saturday morning, but that didn't stop hundreds of protesters from gathering across the Sunshine State to speak out against it. With only hours until the beginning of the bear hunt, demonstrators gathered at Lake Eola Park on Friday weren't backing down. "The people of Florida, so many of them, are just grief-stricken over this," said TV journalist and animal rights activist Jane Velez-Mitchell. Over the last few years, bears have attacked three women in Seminole County and killed several people's pets. Some Seminole County residents...

Bears that barge in on people in the forest have become enough of a nuisance that more of them should be hunted, state wildlife managers have decided. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, responding to a spike in human-bear contacts and an 11-year-old boy's death in June, want to issue 296 black bear hunting permits for Utah's 2008 spring and fall hunts, a 20 percent increase from the 248 permits offered this year. DWR officials say the state's black bear population is high enough to warrant the permit increase. Wildlife managers also say bears and humans clashed too many times...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Public Hearing on Black Bear Situation in New Jersey   Tuesday, July 31, 2007   Please Attend This Important Meeting Wednesday, August 8 On Wednesday, August 8, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is hosting a public hearing at the State Museum at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the preservation and management goals for the black bear population in New Jersey.  This will be the only opportunity to make it known that New Jersey hunters want the bear hunting season restored.   The State Museum is located at located at 205 West State...

Vernon - The trial of four animal-rights activists arrested last Dec. 7 in Wawayanda State Park opened last Thursday in Vernon. Vernon police arrested the four, who were protesting the week-long bear hunt during which hunters shot 297 bears, including 89 in Wawayanda. During the five-hour court session, four witnesses for the prosecution testified and were cross-examined about the events that led to the arrests of Angi Metler, 49, of Vernon, director of the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance; Terry Fritzges, 57, of East Windsor; Albert Kazemian, 49, of Vernon; and Janet Piszar, 52, of Millburn. The four face a...

Conejos County Commissioner John Sandoval, a Republican, announces his candidacy for Colorado House District 62... Currently held by Democrat Rafael Gallegos. The Conejos county commissioner said he believed his experience as a commissioner for the last few years and previously as an Antonito town councilman prepared him for this political step. Sandoval listed several priorities he has set for himself as state representative: 1) Water. 2) TABOR (Taxpayer Amendment Bill of Rights). 3) Colorado Constitution. Sandoval said Colorado is one of the top three states whose constitution is most easily changed. ...“I don’t think that’s a good thing.” He said...

Four animal rights activists were arrested Wednesday morning on hunter harassment charges, including one man who allegedly told a state park ranger and a pair of hunters that he would "get my Arab friends and hunt you down." The arrests took place on a hiking trail in Wawayanda State Park in Vernon, an area where activists have been especially active during this week's black bear hunt. Since Monday, an unknown number of them have canvassed the woods, pledging to find and rescue any bears that have been wounded, but not killed, by hunters' gunfire. Those arrested were Angela Metler and...

EFFORT, Pa. -- A black bear has picked a bad spot for his long winter's nap. A couple of kids in Monroe County, Pa., found the bear sleeping under their porch. Pedro Sainvil said two of his children started screaming "Dad, Dad! There's a bear under the house!" He has four kids and the home is near where 20 children wait for the school bus. Wildlife officials estimate the snoozing bear could weigh as much as 700 pounds. State Game Commission officers said they will relocate the bear to a den on public land where it can sleep until spring.

Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. -- Bear hunting opponents on Monday filed a lawsuit to try to stop New Jersey's second bear hunt in 35 years from taking place. Two animal rights groups filed suit in the Appellate Division of Superior Court to ax the six-day hunt, which is scheduled to begin Dec. 5. A hearing was scheduled for Friday morning. State officials approved the hunt earlier this month as part of a bear management strategy that advocates say is needed to curb the increasing bear population. A 2003 hunt killed 328 of the animals. "Our state has a moral and...

Supporters, foes get emotional over hunt A policy aimed at managing New Jersey's burgeoning black bear population drew 300 people last night, most of whom let their passions fly about the proposal's most emotional aspect: hunting the bruins. The policy was labeled everything from "careful science" to cheap propaganda during a public hearing at Cook College in New Brunswick. "Bear hunters want a bear rug on their floor and a bear head on their wall. That's what this is all about ... a trophy hunt," said Janet Borinsky of Short Hills. Agust Gudmundsson of Warren County countered that the growing...

| Push is on for a new bear huntFriday, September 9, 2005 By KATHLEEN CARROLLSTAFF WRITER There are too many black bears in New Jersey, and allowing annual hunts is the best way to stabilize their numbers, according to a New Jersey Fish and Game Council report released Thursday.In its comprehensive Black Bear Management Plan, the first such policy analysis such 1997, the council reported that contraception and relocation are too unproven, costly and slow."Problems associated with black bears will continue to grow unless the population is stabilized," the report cautioned. "A tool that will quickly reduce the population...

Commissioner asserts both states need to work together to control the boom in bruins New York's top wildlife official has urged New Jersey to resume a bruin hunt this winter and every year afterward, contending the two states need to work together to deal with the growing black bear population they share. Denise Sheehan, commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, issued her plea in a July 14 letter to her New Jersey counterpart, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell. "Managed, successful hunting seasons in both New York and New Jersey, coupled with educational programs and nuisance...

TRENTON, N.J. - The state's highest court called off New Jersey's bear hunt Thursday, four days before the season is scheduled to start. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the state needs to establish a proper management program for bears before it can allow them to be hunted. More than 300 black bears were killed in last year's hunt — the first bear season in 33 years in New Jersey. Proponents maintain another season is needed because of increasing contact between the animals and humans in the northern, rural parts of of the state. But state environmental chief Bradley Campbell...