This blog posting represents the views of the author, David Fosberry. Those opinions may change over time. They do not constitute an expert legal or financial opinion.

If you have comments on this blog posting, please email me .

The Opinion Blog is organised by threads, so each post is identified by a thread number ("Major" index) and a post number ("Minor" index). If you want to view the index of blogs, click here to download it as an Excel spreadsheet.

Click here to see the whole Opinion Blog.

To view, save, share or refer to a particular blog post, use the link in that post (below/right, where it says "Show only this post").

Donald Trump Must Hate Bears

Posted on 18th August 2017

Show only this post
Show all posts in this thread.

I recently read two news stories that show completely opposing attitudes to conservation and the environment. This report on the BBC describes how British Columbia (a Canadian Province) has announced that this season will be the last for trophy hunters; starting next season, it will be illegal. This video report, on the BBC, is about bear hunting in Alaska, where hunters can now shoot and bait bear cubs and hibernating bears on national wildlife refuges, after President Trump abolished protections put in place by Barack Obama.

Don't get me wrong; I am not one of those bleeding-heart conservationists: I have no issue with hunting, as long as it is done humanely, and wild populations are protected from over-hunting (I am sure that some readers will strongly disagree with me on this). What I do know, however, is that hunters generally frown on killing juveniles, killing mothers when they are with their cubs, hunting during the breeding season and using unsporting methods (this disapproval is reiterated in a statement from the lady hunter in the video report above).

I simply do not understand why President Trump decided to abolish the protection measures for bears in national wildlife refuges. The hunters seem not to want these extra freedoms, which allow them to hunt in unfair, cruel and immoral ways, and this abolition is moving in the opposite direction to their neighbours in Canada (renowned for their moral and environmental sense), who are adding protection to bears.

It is pretty clear that Donald Trump is not a hunter, and apparently didn't ask any hunters for their opinions before abolishing the existing protection measures. I guess he just hates bears, or maybe he simply hates any regulations implemented by Obama.