<\/p>\n
SACRAMENTO \u2014 <\/span>A month after the public uproar over the euthanasia of a mother bear that mauled a resident in Monrovia, state lawmakers are considering mandating the use of non-lethal methods to allow wildlife and humans to coexist. <\/p>\n Sen. Katherine Breakspear (D-Encinitas) said she believes the bears are dead, and the state’s decision to kill four wolves that were preying on cattle last year heightened public concern. <\/p>\n \u201cIt made everyone realize we have to do better here,\u201d she told the Times on Thursday. \u201cWe need to see ourselves as part of a larger ecosystem that includes plants, animals, and the world, and recognize the importance of trying to protect it.\u201d<\/p>\n Senate Bill 1135, introduced by Breakspear, would direct the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to create a wildlife coexistence program that would provide public education, provide technical assistance, and maintain a statewide incident reporting system. This will help communities deploy non-lethal devices such as barriers and noise and light machines to deter predators.<\/p>\n Breakspear told the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee during a legislative hearing Tuesday that a three-year state effort to provide similar services had positive results before being canceled two years ago after funding ran out. She said it was time to implement a permanent program. <\/p>\n “Population growth, habitat loss, and industrial growth across California will inevitably lead to interactions between humans and wildlife,” Breakspear told lawmakers. \u201cNo two animal species are the same, and each has its own behavioral patterns and territory. SB 1135 recognizes these differences and provides communities with tools to prevent conflict and respond when conflict occurs.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill would also change the name of the national program to compensate ranchers whose livestock was taken by wolves to the Wolf-Livestock Coexistence and Compensation Program. Ranchers seeking compensation will be required to prove they are using non-lethal deterrents approved by the department.<\/p>\n Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) emphasized that rural life is different from city life. She said some families and ranchers have a genuine fear of predators. <\/p>\n “When a baby calf falls to the ground and then two wolves start tearing it apart, it’s not the prettiest thing I’ve ever witnessed,” said Grove, who abstained from voting for the bill. “This wolf is not a puppy.”<\/p>\n More than 30 organizations support the bill, including the National Wildlife Federation, the National Wildlife Refuge Association, and the California State Legislature. County, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and Citizens for Wildlife Conservation of Los Angeles. <\/p>\n California Farm Bureau and the California Cattle Management Association oppose it, citing funding concerns. <\/p>\n Last month, Mr. Breakspear sent a letter to the chairman of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee asking for $48.8 million to implement the bill, including $25 million to be earmarked for wolf encounter prevention. Half of all wolf conflict funding goes toward deterrence. The rest will compensate ranchers for their losses. <\/p>\n Kirk Wilbur, vice president of the Government Cattlemen’s Association, said the association is concerned about the division of funding, especially if funding is cut. <\/p>\n Wilbur told lawmakers Tuesday that the group supports some aspects of the bill and is having productive conversations with Breakspear to address concerns. <\/p>\n The bill ultimately passed the committee on a 5-1 vote and now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.<\/p>\n Human-wildlife conflicts have recently made headlines in California, from a bear in Altadena refusing to come out of its basement for weeks to a mother bear named Blondie crossing paths with a woman walking her dog in Monrovia last month. <\/p>\n When Blondie strokes a woman’s leg, He was then euthanized<\/u> By California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Her two cubs were sent to the San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center. The bear’s death has upset many local residents, as thousands of people signed the petition. petition<\/u> Seek other solutions, such as relocation.<\/p>\n However, fatal attacks on humans by wild animals are rare in California. <\/p>\n According to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, there have been six fatal mountain lion deaths since 1890. The agency recorded one fatal coyote fatality in 1981 and one fatal black bear fatality in 2023. The department has no records of deaths caused by gray wolves. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n #Uproar #mother #bear #killing #launch #state #wildlife #coexistence #program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SACRAMENTO \u2014 A month after the public uproar over the euthanasia of a mother bear that mauled a resident in Monrovia, state lawmakers are considering mandating the use of non-lethal methods to allow wildlife and humans to coexist. Sen. Katherine Breakspear (D-Encinitas) said she believes the bears are dead, and the state’s decision to kill … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[708,1562,725,1575,1568,1564,1289,1574,1571,232,1566,1573,1570,1576,1569,1567,1565,1563,393,1572,1320,805,1413],"class_list":["post-717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bear","tag-break-spear","tag-california","tag-coexistence","tag-community","tag-funding","tag-human","tag-killing","tag-kirk-wilbur","tag-launch","tag-mama-bear","tag-mother","tag-organization","tag-program","tag-public-interest","tag-rancher","tag-senate-bill","tag-senate-committee","tag-state","tag-uproar","tag-wild-animals","tag-wildlife","tag-wolf"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}