I was treated to a jolt of reality recently, namely that the Utah Legislature ignores the wishes of the majority and that money is always the deciding issue.
I suppose these facts should have been obvious to me after living here for some 30-odd years and watching the Republican-dominated big-business oriented Legislature continually forcing the desires of the rich few down the throats of the ever-faithful citizens.The hearing for HB58 was another slap in the face. HB58 is sponsored by Tom Matthews of Helper to reinstate the spring bear hunt. This cruel and unsportsmanlike practice was finally ended in August 1992 by the Utah Wildlife Board after many years of discussion, controversy, name calling and even threats of violence.
The decision was made because the Wildlife Board recognized that not only were a majority of citizens opposed to the spring hunt but also that this practice jeopardizes the biological well-being of the black bear.
Now Matthews believes that an organization that has been empowered by the state is no longer capable of making the decisions it is required to make. At a hearing for the bill, he and other supporters prattled and whined about the board catering to "anti-hunters" and animal rights activists.
It was interesting, however, to note that the only supporters of the bill were the people who would economically benefit by its passage, namely the houndsmen. The other 90 percent of the people in the hearing room were opposed to the bill. This became obvious when the chairman simply asked how many people there (the room was packed) were opposed to the bill. The hands raised easily outnumbered those not raised by 9-1.
Of course, this had little effect on the committee. Even though opponents of the bill spoke of a difficult decision already having been made by the Wildlife Board, the committee and its chairman seemed to care more about stories of the "big bad bear" that orphans fawns by killing their mothers.
Even though they were told of the arrogance and torture of chasing lethargic, weakened bears with dogs, the committee seemed more interested in all the revenue that these hunters and houndsmen would generate. The bill passed the committee and was sent to the House floor.
Now this bill is in the hands of the House. Without public outcry, I am afraid they will once again support the hunter's concept that if they pay enough money they should be able to kill anything they want any time they want. We must stop the selective war on wildlife where nongame animals and animals that prey on game animals are being annihilated. There is only one species that the hunter has not pursued. Can we guess which one that is?
David Barton
Ogden