To: Ryan Zinke, Secretary of Interior

Department of Interior: Reject the brutal hunting and trapping of bears and wolves in Alaska

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is pushing for the reversal of prohibitions put into place under the Obama administration, and we have less than 60 days to stop this from happening. If these limits are rolled back, some of the most cruel means of hunting and trapping of bears, wolves, coyotes, and other animals could be allowed on National Park Service preserves including baiting bears with bacon and donuts, killing wolf pups in their dens, and blinding hibernating bear cubs with bright spotlights. Please reject this offensive proposal.

Why is this important?

The U.S. Department of Interior has proposed overturning a ban put into place by President Obama that rightly blocked egregious and cruel methods of killing wildlife on National Park Service lands known as preserves.

Among the unethical and offensive methods of wildlife killing that the Department of Interior has proposed be allowed are:

The use of donuts, bacon, and other “baits” to attract bears to be shot;
The hunting of bears with dogs;
Killing of wolves and their pups in their dens;
Using blindingly bright spotlights to shoot mother black bears and cubs hibernating in their dens.

These methods of killing wildlife are antithetical to “fair chase” hunting and have no place on National Park Service lands. National Park Service Preserves in the remainder of the United States prohibit these methods and there is no rational purpose for allowing them here.

We will pass along your comments as part of the 60 day comment period to the National Park Service on Docket ID: NPS-2018-0005 // Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 1024-AE38, and will also follow up to encourage you to directly comment to ensure your voice is heard.