PETITIONING THE NEVADA BOARD OF WILDLIFE COMMISSIONERS

Petition by NoBearHuntNV

The Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners meets on May 13 & 14 in Reno to set the number of Black Bears to be killed this year in Nevada.  We are asking for the quota to be set at zero.

Nevada is home to approximately 445 black bears. Despite strong opposition by citizens and animal advocacy groups, and after 80 years of protection, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners established a black bear hunt in 2010. Now, a small group of trophy hunters hunt them every year.

This petition will remind the Commissioners that we wish for this hunt to end and our bears to be protected again. This petition will also remind the Commissioners that using GPS collared dogs to chase bears to the point of exhaustion, to be shot out of a tree, possibly creating orphaned cubs, is not acceptable.

Trophy hunters try to justify the black bear hunt by claiming their fees fund conservation. This hunt, however, receives an economic subsidy from the Wildlife Commission. It is unnecessary for population management or for managing urban bear conflicts.

Nevada is home to 2.8 million people. Only 1.8% of Nevadans hold hunting licenses and only 4% of those hunters applied to hunt a bear in 2015. The only justification offered to the public for this hunt is that of "hunter opportunity", a concept that is decades out of date, given the iconic nature of the bear and the tiny population that inhabits Nevada.

For more information: NoBearHuntNV.org