To the Editor:
During the week of October 10 to October 15, I bore witness to the senseless slaughter of our defenseless black bears. Along with many protesters, we witnessed the hunters arriving at the weigh station with the dead bloody bodies of cubs and adult bears; families torn apart.
Bow hunting is one of the cruelest ways to kill. They bate the bears by putting down donuts as hunters hide in trees. As soon as a bear approaches they cross-bow them sometimes in the face; killed without an ounce of compassion. Many are just wounded and go off and die a very painful slow death. Humans are the only species to demonstrate such inhumanity; we should be ashamed. Remaining silent or doing nothing after witnessing such inhumanity, I believe is wrong.
We need moral courage, which means standing up against evil, even if it means going against society or the masses. To the hunters and all other animal abusers, I believe, your day will come. If not here, then in another time and space.
It appears Pedals has been killed. He had been managing just fine on his own. How could anyone kill a defenseless handicapped bear? Pedals had sustained injuries to his front paws forcing him to walk upright like a human.
I would personally like to thank Senator Raymond Lesniak for introducing S2702 “Pedals Law” which was heard on Oct. 10 by the Senate Economics Committee. The bill was released by a vote of (3-2) and now goes to the full Senate. The bill ends bear hunts for five years while a non-lethal bear control program is implemented.
Please be the change you wish to see in the world. Remember Gandhi’s words: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
DARLENE DYNEGA