Black Bear Hunt in Connecticut is on hold....

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

 Six e-mails the past two weeks on this subject and this is what I found out for you.

 Democrats killed legislation to allow the state's first bear hunt since 1840 by substituting it with an amendment banning the importing, possession and sale of trophies from five African big-game animals.
After nearly two hours of debate in the Senate on the merits of bear hunting, with Sen. Craig Miner, a Litchfield Republican and co-chair of the environment committee the bill's chief proponent, Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman broke a 18-18 tie along party lines to pass the amendment.

Republicans said a bear hunt is needed to combat the state's increasing black bear population, particularly in Litchfield County. Interactions between bears and humans have become more and more common, they said, and though no injuries or deaths have been reported, a hunt would help to thin the population and reduce the risk.

"I don't want Connecticut to be the first place where we see the YouTube video of a bear dragging a young child or an elderly person off into the woods and mauling that person or causing harm to them," said Sen. Eric Berthel, a Watertown Republican who recalled recently seeing a bear at the edge of his property while his children played in the yard.
But Democrats questioned if now was the time to institute a bear hunt. Senate Democratic Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk said the ratio of bears to humans in Connecticut is much lower than other states that allow hunting, like Maine.
Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, represents towns with some of the most annual bear sightings including Farmington (425) Burlington (257) and West Hartford (220).
"My emails and phone calls still overwhelmingly oppose bear hunting," she said. "In some ways my constituents have come to know that bears are part of their surroundings."
Source: Courant News and DEEP Photo