The Humane Society of the United States. They’re not just pet and farm animal advocates, they dislike hunters, too.  From their website, “ We seek a truly humane society in which animals are respected for their intrinsic value, and where the human-animal bond is strong”. (I had to look up “intrinsic” so don’t feel bad.) I read the definition about five times and then read Roget’s Thesaurus for the synonyms of this word and decided it meant: they like animals because they’re cute and we can own them to enjoy their cuteness for our own gratification. Of course Brittany Spears (one of their show biz star supporters) could have given us the definition, too. OK, I can see this. They look at a pig and see a pet, we look at the same pig and smell pork chops.

HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) has decided that baiting bears to hunt them on Federal lands is wrong. Please read the story at:  http://www.hsus.org/ace/16258  There are two pages to read. Just the way the story is written is inflammatory and the best quote is from former Minnesota Governor, Jesse Ventura where he talks of feeding “Yogi” for five days and then shooting him in the back. “That ain’t sport. That’s assassination”. In so many words, Jesse has accused bear hunters using bait as the murders of Yogi the bear, a cute cartoon character. I’ve seen bears in the wild and none of them reminded me of Yogi, or Boo Boo, for that matter. 

This is the opposing team’s latest drive to pull hunters over the line in the dirt and win. Now, there is one fun piece of strategy in playing tug of war. When one side tires of the game, a disciplined team can all at once let go of the rope and watch the other team fall flat on their butts. I think it’s time to let go the rope and see what happens. Here’s an idea to think on.

Hunters agree to quit baiting bears on Federal land as long as HSUS takes full responsibility for any bear problems. In fact, the hunters take it a step further and totally quit hunting the bears on Federal land. Well, since we’re just talking about it, how about if hunters voluntarily stop hunting bears in Michigan altogether for say about ten years or so? (But only if HSUS takes responsibility for the outcome) I can see the legs and shoes in the air from back here.

Now, since our whole team has let go of the rope, the DNR isn’t responsible for bear problems either. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service might be off the hook, but you never know whose team they’re on in the first place. Bottom line is, anyone that had anything to do with the management of black bears in Michigan, can now drop the rope. Most of us are on the look out for new management techniques and this new “intrinsic” method might teach us something.

All we need from the HSUS is the phone numbers of their members that will take calls from farmers, cabin owners, hikers and campers that are tired of Yogi messing up their lives. And just think of the benefits to all of us sportsmen from this gesture of goodwill. We’ll see more bear near roadways just like the deer are now because there’ll be so many more of them, not being hunted and all. Why, we’ll be able to find one behind almost every tree in the woods in a few years and when we decide to start hunting them again there will be no need for baiting at all.

I suspect that HSUS would decline the offer of any such agreement. The fact is they and PETA (read, vegetarians) will never get along with hunters and our dealings with Yogi and Bambi. The cow killed for a Big Mac and the chicken butchered for KFC will never die the death these folks would be happy with, either.

The battle for hunting baited bears on Federal land will just have to be another time for us to tighten the grip on the rope and dig in our heels. But, wouldn’t it be fun to drop the rope once to see what happens?