Why do you hunt bears? (if you do)

[chicken2010]

as I've been watching a bbc programme called 'the bear family and me' and bears seem relatively harmless and friendly on most occasions, i understand if you might shoot one because it's trespassing your property but why actively hunt for bears if they don't bother you?

 

[mgw]

The shortest answer I have is, I love hunting and they sell tags for them. Also it is a spring season, so bears and turkeys can be hunted in spring.

 

[M To The Maxx]

You obviosly have not learned much about bears. If they see a person and feel they are uncomfortable they will pretty much go after one.

 

[lighthawk]

I don't hunt bears as there are none around here. I do however hunt deer and other wild game. I do it for the same reason you hunt your grocers meat counter.

 

[Beekissed]

Around here the bear population has increased so that they were entering the towns and causing problems. Most folks here hunt the bears with dogs, have a good time doing it but often don't kill the bears....usually they are too small or the hunters just don't want to fool with processing one. Finally, the DNR posted an article in the paper encouraging the hunters to stop just running and treeing the bears and to start actually shooting them!

Some of the folks hunt them to eat...it is considered a delicacy here in these mountains. Some hunt them to keep the number of bears down so that the bears won't starve or prey on livestock to live....yes, if you don't keep their population in check, there is too much competition for food in their area.

A friend of mine lost 25 lambs in two days to a family of "relatively harmless and friendly" bears this past winter...this constitutes a monetary loss of over a thousand dollars in two day's time.

They are cute and comical when you watch them on TV. When you walk up into your pasture and you see a field full of slaughtered lambs that they couldn't possibly eat in one setting, that they just killed to be killing, they become the enemy.

 

[easttxchick]

I don't hunt anything, not because I have anything against it, but because it's not my thing(DH is an avid hunter and I'm fine with that).

"bears seem relatively harmless and friendly on most occasions"
I'm honestly not trying to be mean at all, but this seems like a VERY dangerous assumption. I think they are really beautiful creatures, but I wouldn't trust one, no matter how friendly it seemed, as far as I could sling one.

 

[cedar post]

I have hunted bears on many occasions and they are not harmless or freindly not that they all of them are really very dangerous , but on occasion they will bluff charge or follow you in the woods. In WI. the population is growing very fast and they now are a common sight in the southern parts of our state. I hunt them because of tradition in our state and for the pelt and meat.
I will add a pic of a bear at one of my bait sites.

This last year I hunted and sat on this bait for 13 days before seeing a bear.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I hate to say it, but BBC might not be your best source for bear information. They haven't had bears in Britain in centuries. I grew up in bear country, with both black and brown (grizzly) bears. The best way for someone who hasn't actually seen a bear to think about them is a 400 pound plus Hell's Angel raccoon with a hangover. They are not friendly, cuddly or sweet.

My brother hunted bear for the fur and for food. Every year where I lived bears were killed by Fish and Game because they had been fed by tourists during the summer. In the fall when the tourists were gone the bears would move into town and cause problems: killing dogs, raiding smokehouses, breaking into homes, trashing trash, and other unsocial sorts of things. No one where I lived got mauled, but it could have easily happened.

 

[cedar post]

mom'sfolly :

I hate to say it, but BBC might not be your best source for bear information. They haven't had bears in Britain in centuries. I grew up in bear country, with both black and brown (grizzly) bears. The best way for someone who hasn't actually seen a bear to think about them is a 400 pound plus Hell's Angel raccoon with a hangover. They are not friendly, cuddly or sweet.

My brother hunted bear for the fur and for food. Every year where I lived bears were killed by Fish and Game because they had been fed by tourists during the summer. In the fall when the tourists were gone the bears would move into town and cause problems: killing dogs, raiding smokehouses, breaking into homes, trashing trash, and other unsocial sorts of things. No one where I lived got mauled, but it could have easily happened.

X2​

 

[magoochie]

There is many reasons for hunting a bear or any other animal. (Other than food for the freezer

)

Most hunters know and understand that animals will over-populate and fight for food and territory if they are not maintained. If there are too many deer, bear, etc they will soon be forced into suburban areas including your childrens backyards. When animals are not in their natural habitat, they are more on edge, and may pose a threat. (you hear of coyotes in Los Angeles taking dogs, Mountain Lions attacking people or animals etc) The main reason for this is because there is a lack of food source. The animals became over-populated in a certain area, and were forced out of their natural habitat by the more dominant of there spieces. Forcing the animals to try to survive elsewhere.

If the population is not controlled by hunting or otherwise:

1. There will be a lack of food for them. (some will starve)
2. They become more aggressive because of lack of food and natural habitat forcing them to move to more urban areas.
3. bear will kill baby deer or livestock just like a wolf or a coyote

I could go on and on.....

Now, because the bear and deer and other animals are THRIVING and we are seeing higher numbers than ever before, that means one thing to me. THEY ARE HEALTHIER THAN THEY HAVE EVER BEEN!

So because of us hunters and trappers helping to control the population, the animals are having a better quality of life than they might otherwise have.

Think of a bunch of stray cats/kittens. In your house they are loved and cuddly because they have no competition. But when left to fend for themselves, they typically become feral. They will attack if they feel threatened, eat out of your garbage can etc. Strays do not look healthy, because they ARE NOT healthy. Same goes in the wild with bear, deer, or anything else.

Just one opinion from a Huntress and her family.