Over Seventy Scientists Call on Wyoming Governor to Halt Grizzly Hunt

Jackson, WY— Today, 73 scientists released a letter opposing the state of Wyoming’s proposed grizzly bear trophy hunt— calling on Wyoming Governor Matt Mead to put the hunt on hold pending an independent peer review process. Designed to significantly reduce bear numbers within a core monitoring area and eradicate virtually all bears outside of this area, the scientists noted the plan is unsustainable. Co-signers call the hunt “ethically irresponsible, unwarranted, and not in the public’s interest.” See their full letter here.  Dr. David Mattson, the letter’s author and a retired 30-year-long grizzly bear biologist, and Prof. Rob Wielgus  are available for interview and comment.

In addition to the letter, wildlife biologists released the following statements:

“Wyoming's plans to reduce numbers of grizzly bears outside of the National Parks will, in some zones, amount to an unmitigated slaughter. The decision is based on flawed science, flawed logic, and an utter disregard for the national public’s values in ethics, humaneness and conservation of wildlife,” said Dr. David Mattson, United States Geological Survey Research Wildlife Biologist and Research Station Leader (retired) and Lecturer and Senior Visiting Scientist, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (retired).

“Grizzly bears, one of the slowest producing of terrestrial animals, did not evolve to be hunted. Wyoming’s plans to hunt 24 grizzly bears of an isolated population is aggressive and fails to use sound science. Wyoming’s plan will result in the deaths of multiple national park grizzly bears,” said Dr. Rob Wielgus, Professor and Director of the Large Carnivore Conservation Laboratory at Washington State University.

“Ignoring the biology and the intrinsic value of grizzlies, Wyoming’s proposal to kill them for trophies is narrowly directed towards the idea that grizzly bears are just a commodity. The concept, however, that anyone would wish to kill grizzlies for pleasure is increasingly repulsive to most people. This way of thinking differs sharply from values of  wildlife conservation,” said Dr. Paul Paquet, Professor at University of Victoria’s Geography Department and Senior Scientist at Raincoast Conservation Foundation.