08.03.16

Grijalva Urges Support for New Rule Protecting Alaska Species From Unnecessary Cruelty – Standard is Major GOP Target

Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today applauded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) release of a new rule prohibiting several unnecessarily cruel killing methods on 76 million acres of wildlife refuge land across the state of Alaska. The new rule is a major target of Republican lawmakers, who have already tried multiple times to prevent it from going into effect.

The rule prohibits hunters from using artificial lights to lure black bears from their dens; trapping bears with steel-jawed traps or snares; using pet food or rotting meat to lure grizzly bears to trapping stations; or shooting wolf, black bear and coyote mothers and young – and extended family members for wolves and coyotes – at their den sites.

The rule is a response to Alaska Board of Game policies designed to dramatically reduce the state’s predator species populations – an approach condemned by scientists and conservation advocates. It closely mirrors a rule established by the National Park Service in 2015.

“We should be listening to the scientists who study and understand these species, not an ideological minority that sees every animal with teeth as a threat to civilization,” Grijalva said. “Bears, wolves and other species that have been abundant in Alaska for centuries are not our enemies, and we shouldn’t be inventing new reasons or new ways to destroy them. This rule should go forward and the people who oppose it should find something more important to do with the limited time we have left in this Congress.”

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) successfully attached a rider to the so-called Sportsmen’s Bill (H.R. 2406) in a February vote blocking the implementation of any such rule. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.) spoke forcefully against the measure, formally titled H.Amdt.960, which passed despite House Democratic opposition. The underlying bill has not yet become law.

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