Bear snaring is inhumane and unscientific, and should not be allowed in Alaska. We support balanced, scientifically based approaches to wildlife management that benefit all Alaskans, and ask the Board of Game to do the same.

Recently, the Alaska Board of Game has authorized a variety of dangerous, inhumane, and unscientific methods of manipulating wildlife populations in Alaska. For example, the state has authorized the killing of bear cubs, shooting wolves and bears from airplanes, gassing wolf pups, and shooting bears and cubs while they are sleeping in their dens.

In March, the Alaska Board of Game will consider a proposal which would authorize an open season for bear snaring for the first time in the state’s history. This January, 78 biologists called the practice “incompatible with the scientific principles and the ethics of modern wildlife management.” Former Governor Tony Knowles has called the proposed practice “unethical and unscientific.”

Put simply, we Alaskans want these extreme, unscientific predator management practices to stop.