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W. Va. Hunters Argue Against Guided Bear Hunts, For Buck Limits
< < Back to w-va-hunters-argue-against-guided-bear-hunts-for-buck-limitsCHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia hunters have protested a bill to allow guided bear hunts and supported lowering the limit on bucks for deer hunters from three to two.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports more than 300 people packed the midwinter meeting of the state Natural Resources Commission on Sunday.
The commission has no influence over legislation. West Virginia Bear Hunters Association President Don Radcliff says they would’ve protested at the Legislature if it met during the weekend.
Several hunters argued the bill would end traditional bear hunting methods and was drafted out of a conflict of interest, which the family of the state senator who sponsored it denied.
Proponents of limiting bucks to one or two say hunters currently have to travel out of state or to the southern, bowhunting-only counties to hunt mature bucks.