Nevada’s Department of Wildlife and its oversight commission claim “sound” science and management buttress gratuitous, serial killing of wildlife species. The facts speak differently.
NDOW’s 15-year bear specialist recently testified about a statistically vague population between 400 and 700. This uncertain range has been used to justify three annual hunts for controlling a fictitious population explosion.
NDOW collected $55,000 of hunt fees over two years but spent $200,000 in the first year. An open-records request to NDOW for second-year hunt expenses indicates “no records are kept tracking costs of operating and administering the bear hunt.”
However, NDOW receives multiple federal grants (redistribution of our tax money) based on detailed estimates and reporting of actual costs. Let’s assume just $55,000 of year two hunt expenses, or $200,000 of net losses over two years. To kill 25 bears, Nevadans subsidized each dead bear at $8,000.
Trapping is another loss “leader” for NDOW. One thousand licensed trappers statewide pay just $33 annually for unlimited trapping, but NDOW has repeatedly stated it spends $100,000 to administer trapping, or a net loss of $67,000 each year.
When will NDOW represent all state residents rather than subsidizing wildlife death by a relative few?
Fred Voltz, Carson City