Editor:
The Legislature's passage of Senate Bill 1221 to ban the unsporting activity of "hounding" bears and bobcats is a major step in the right direction for wildlife and for all of California.
During these high-tech hunts, packs of radio-collared hounds are let loose in the woods to chase down bears and bobcats, with the chase sometimes lasting for hours. The quarry eventually takes refuge in a tree, only to be shot off the tree branch at point-blank range, or face off with the hounds on the ground. It's not uncommon that the hounds maul the bear or bobcat when they catch them on the ground, even ripping the animal apart.
The bill's author, state Sen. Ted Lieu (D-28th), deserves a special praise for his leadership in shepherding this bill to passage. It was as skillful a case of lawmaking and persuasion as I've ever seen from a state legislator. Now that SB 1221 has passed the legislature, it has one final hurdle left. Please join me in calling Gov. Brown at (916) 445-2841, and urge him to sign SB 1221 into law.
Wayne Pacelle
President and CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
