Target: Charlton Bonham, Director of California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Goal: Strengthen restrictions on bow hunting to enhance wildlife conservation.
A bear that has become a beloved fixture of one California neighborhood was recently spotted by several area residents. Something was different with this visit, however. The bear lumbered painfully from yard to yard, sometimes collapsing and at other times moaning. The source of his apparent agony was the arrow protruding from his side.
Calling for justice for this innocent living being would be useless, however, because in California this type of assault is perfectly legal. As long as you have a license, you can bow hunt. Unlike every other state in the nation, you do not even need to enroll in a hunter education and certification course to take up your bow and arrows and slaughter animals at will. The result is the kind of careless, cruel injuries that befell this defenseless bear.
Sign the petition below to demand California stop declaring open season on its wildlife.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Director Bonham,
“He laid on his side, he perched his head up to look at us and, almost as though asking for help, he lifted his paw up, which was the most heart-wrenching thing.” These words came from an Arcadia resident who came upon an injured, and possibly dying, bear in his backyard. This animal was likely the latest victim of this state’s largely unregulated bow hunting practice, which is the most lenient in the nation.
While California has established itself as a progressive leader in many ways, this state still woefully lags in the protections and respect it affords its wildlife. Do you really want to be known as a place where the echoes of painful moans are the sounds reverberating through neighborhoods? Do you want the first experiences children have with wildlife to be images of slaughter? And do you want to replace conservation with unchecked cruelty?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, then do something. Reign in unregulated bow hunting before the next victim falls.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Vincent MA Janssen
Bow hunting is a horrible activity, it is done strictly for entertainment and results in a horrific and long drawn out death for wildlife. By continuing to allow this type of ‘hunt’ you are encouraging and enabling animal torture and it is reprehensible and shameful.