The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and their groupies have some Mainers drinking the anti-hunting Kool-Aid. Through inflated statistics and blatant lies, HSUS and their front group, Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting, have made an attempt to fool voters into supporting Question 1.
Unfortunately for HSUS, the majority of Mainers don’t buy their costly marketing ploys due to a variety of blunders that have made the Washington D.C.-based organization look like that drunk, raging lunatic at a party who just needs to go home.
Here are just a few of the foolish stumbles CEO Wayne Pacelle and HSUS have made:
Grizzly Bears in Maine?
On Oct. 27, a Facebook user called out Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting for putting grizzly bears on the cover of a mailer titled “Baiting Stinks,” which discussed anti-hunting view of black bear baiting in Maine. The manager of the page promptly responded, informing the user that black bears come in different colors and do not have a hump on their shoulder like a grizzly. Nate Webb, a biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, later confirmed the bears were indeed grizzlies.
7 Million Pounds of Bait
Apparently Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of HSUS, doesn’t believe in sound data. HSUS and Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting have fed voters a plethora of statistics they just can’t back up. One such claim that they’ve touted is that seven million pounds of bait are dumped into the north woods of Maine each year. Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife does not require hunters to report how much bait is placed in the woods during black bear season, and this number is an arbitrary figure based on an extrapolation of all guides and bear hunters.
Donuts
YES campaigners seem hung up on the theory that baiting bears with sweets such as honey, molasses, oils and donuts causes their populations to rise and creates a dependency on human foods. Bear biologists (yes, the people who study bears) have conducted years of research that disproves this theory, citing that availability of natural food, not bait, drives the bear population.
Unsportsmanlike Spokesman
Joel Gibbs, a bear hunter featured on Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting TV ads, was recently accused with using non-fair chase tactics while hunting ruffed grouse. According to Bangor Daily News, Gibbs was charged with shooting a firearm at a grouse from a motor vehicle on Oct. 17th. Shooting from a vehicle is illegal in Maine as it is perceived to give the hunter an unfair advantage. Good thing the folks at Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting provided Joel with a script…
The Real HSUS Agenda
Shortly after launching their campaign in Maine, HSUS softened their statement toward hunting on their website. The previous version called for a ban on all forms of hunting, and strongly reflected the ideologies of Pacelle. Twenty years ago, he was quoted with saying…
“We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States… We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state.” – Full Cry Magazine, Oct. 1, 1990
Sound familiar? HSUS is forcing Mainers to defend their scientifically driven management practices at the ballot box to decide the fate of the state’s rich bear hunting heritage – and then they’ll attack the rest of the country.
