Our nation’s iconic wildlife is under attack in another inexplicable move by the Trump administration. In the latest blow, the government is aiming to allow the worst trophy hunting and trapping practices on public lands in Alaska.
For the first time in five years, slaughtering hibernating black bear mothers and their cubs at their dens, using bait to attract and slay grizzly bears, killing wolves and coyote pups and their parents in their dens and shooting swimming caribou on over 20 million acres of national preserve lands in Alaska will be allowed.
On top of this revival of inhumane hunting techniques, the Trump administration proposed a rule that would once again allow shameful killing methods at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. These include luring brown bears with doughnuts, candy and other tempting foods to make them easy shooting targets. It would also allow trapping of wildlife without the critical requirement to first obtain a federal permit—a change that will cause unnecessary suffering not only to animals targeted to be caught in cruel, serrated steel traps, but also to countless other species not even intended to be targets. Continue reading.