If the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) passes a proposed rule fueled by trophy hunting interest groups like Safari Club International, Missouri residents will be able to kill a black bear for $25 starting October 2021. If we don’t stop them, hunters could once again decimate the state’s black bear population, reversing decades of progress in restoring bears from near extinction.
We need your voice in opposition to this hunt!
The public comment period for this proposed hunting season ends on November 14.
If you are a Missouri resident, you have two opportunities to make your voice heard:
(1) Submit written comments to MDC by November 14, 2020:
- Please go here to submit your comments, using the talking points below.
- Fill out all of the required fields.
- Make sure to mark “Opposed” under “Support Level.”
- Make sure that under “Proposed Regulation,” “3 CSR 10- 5.900: Resident Black Bear Hunting Permit” is selected.
- Press Submit!
(2) Write a Letter to the Editor (LTE) of your local newspaper:
- Encourage fellow Missouri residents to oppose the proposed black bear hunting season.
- Use the talking points below, and see tips on LTEs here.
Talking Points (remember to personalize your message and be respectful):
- Missouri’s small population of black bears is still recovering, and the proposed hunting season is simply cruel, unnecessary, and not based on sound science.
- Missouri’s estimated population count of 540-840 bears, up from just 212 bears in 2012, is highly suspect and based on biased research partially funded by sister and affiliate organizations of Safari Club International, the nation’s largest trophy hunting group. Using MDC’s own estimated population growth rate of 9% per year—which is higher than other studies suggest—Missouri’s bear population is more likely around 422 bears.
- This proposal would allow 250-500 bear hunting permits to be sold—an irrational number for a previously un-hunted population of likely fewer than 540-840 animals.
- Bears reproduce very slowly and are highly susceptible to overkill. A female only reaches adulthood at approximately 4 years of age. She then gives birth to 2-3 cubs/year and has litters only every 2-3 years. Trophy hunters target breeding adults, which disrupts social structure and further slows reproduction.
- Bears are capable of self-regulation and do not need hunting to regulate their populations. Human exploitation of bears is often “super-additive,” which means kill rates exceed naturally-occurring mortalities.
- Black bears should be protected because they fill an important ecological niche and increase the biodiversity of their ecosystems.
- Black bears contribute to forest biodiversity in a number of ways:
- They eat fruit and disperse seeds across vast distances.
- With various natural behaviors, bears cause small-scale disturbance to the canopy, allowing sun to filter to the forest floor and thereby increasing diverse plant growth.
- They improve soils by breaking logs while searching for food, which aids decomposition and soil nutrients.
- The proposed hunting season does not prohibit the killing of unaccompanied bear cubs, which is ethically indefensible.
- While the proposed season would prohibit the killing of mothers with cubs, there is nothing prohibiting the killing of a lone, unaccompanied cub or a mother whose cubs are not within eyesight.
- Hunting bears does not make people safer, nor does it stop human-bear conflicts. Rather than putting time and resources into opening a black bear hunting season, MDC should expand education on non-lethal preventive measures to reduce human-bear conflicts.
- Because food availability plays a large role in the presence of bears in urban areas, human food sources are the root cause of conflicts. Using bear-resistant trash cans, cleaning up BBQ grills, feeding pets indoors, and using electric fencing around chicken coops and beehives can effectively prevent the rare chance of conflict.
- Numerous studies cite the fact that killing bears doesn’t prevent conflict, but it does radically reduce population sizes.
- Missouri’s wildlife belongs to all its residents, and the majority of Missourians do not support a bear hunting season. Since the majority of the Department’s funding comes from taxpayers, the MDC must listen to all of its constituents.
- According to a March 2019 poll (conducted by Remington Research Group for the Humane Society of the US), only 33% of Missourians support opening a bear hunting season. In contrast, 69% believe that Missouri should prioritize policies that promote non-lethal methods to reduce conflicts between bears and people.
- Over three thousand people submitted comments in June opposing the bear hunt, outnumbering those in support by nearly three to one.
- Black bears contribute to forest biodiversity in a number of ways:
Please join Project Coyote in telling MDC that their policies cannot favor trophy hunting interests while ignoring their responsibilities to conserve wildlife and uphold the public trust. Missouri needs its bears—and its bears need you to speak up!
Michelle Lute, PhD
National Carnivore Conservation Manager
Vicki Markus
Program Associate & Missouri Representative