Tonight: Last Meeting Before Vote on Egregious Grizzly Hunt

Jackson, WY -- The Wyoming Game and Fish Department tonight will host its last in a series of public meetings to gather comments on the state’s proposed grizzly bear trophy hunt. The proposal will allow the killing of twenty-four grizzly bears, including up to 14 slow-reproducing females. The hunt would begin in September, just as bears are trying to fatten up to survive the hibernation period. Females are especially vulnerable as they need extra calories to be able to give birth and sustain cubs during hibernation.

In advance of the meeting, Bonnie Rice of the Sierra Club’s Greater Yellowstone campaign, released the following statement:

"Wyoming’s grizzly hunt proposal is extreme and irresponsible.  It allows dozens of treasured grizzly bears to be killed, and is designed to reduce the population and severely limit bears’ range in Wyoming. Bears will be vulnerable as soon as they step out of national park boundaries other than in a small buffer on the east side of Grand Teton. The future of grizzly bear protections is still being decided in the courts, but Wyoming is already rushing for a hunt of this breathtaking animal for nothing more than a trophy on the wall.

“People come from all over the world to the Jackson Hole area for the chance to see a grizzly bear in the wild. In 2016 alone, wildlife watching generated more than $360 million in Wyoming. Any revenue from hunting absolutely pales in comparison and a trophy hunt of grizzly bears will give Wyoming a black eye with people around the world.

“Trophy hunting the iconic grizzly would be short-sighted and wrong. Because bears reproduce so slowly, killing bears--particularly females--can have a profound impact on the population. Wyoming should focus on continued recovery of grizzly bears, preventing conflicts and promoting coexistence and safety for people and bears. This extreme proposal will set back over forty years of grizzly recovery efforts.”