California Black Bear Season Closed

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/12/california-bear-hunting.html
California's black-bear-hunting season came to a close Wednesday when the annual hunt quota of 1,700 adult bears was met......

According to the California Department of Fish and Game, data indicate that the state's bear population has increased in recent years, and that the animals are being observed in areas where they were not seen 50 years ago along the Central Coast and some mountain ranges of Southern California.

The department maintains that bear hunting, like deer hunting, is a necessary management tool and that its annual quota does not jeopardize an estimated state population of 25,000 to 30,000 animals.....

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

This says it all:

"There is nothing sporting about chasing down bears with packs of dogs, running the terrified animal up a tree and blowing the bear away so some hunter can have a throw rug in front of the fireplace."