WASHINGTON DC -

SCI, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and the NRA successfully banded together this week to oppose H.R. 5534, the so called “Bear Protection Act.” SCI and other sportsmen’s groups have worked hard to educate Congressmen and staffers about the realities of this “Bear Protection Act.”  Though H.R. 5534 sounds noble in purpose, it contained broad language that plays right into the hand of anti-hunting groups.

The truth is that H.R. 5534 will do nothing to increase conservation efforts for the North American bear, which have healthy and robust populations throughout their ranges as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stated in its congressional testimony on this bill. The North American bear is already protected from poaching for its viscera (internal body parts) by state wildlife agency regulations, and protected from illegal interstate commerce by the Federal Lacey Act.  Furthermore, the bill would set the precedent of federal interference in successful state-based wildlife management and conservation. 

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