Hunting bill is barbaric

By Annoula Wylderich, Las Vegas

Friday, March 31, 2017 | 2 a.m.

I want to sincerely thank Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto for voting against House Joint Res. 69, which allows barbaric killing methods on national wildlife refuges in Alaska.

It seems like a vote against such blatant cruelty would be a no-brainer, but unfortunately 52 members of the Senate caved into special interest groups like Safari Club International and the NRA, and voted in favor of it.

Federal agencies, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service, should be able to protect wildlife on federal public lands, and wildlife refuges of all places should be a safe space for animals — not somewhere where you can lure grizzly bears with rotting meat and other bait to get a point-blank kill, or blast bear cubs and wolf pups away in their dens.

These kinds of draconian methods should not be allowed anywhere, least of all on our refuges. Americans cherish our wildlife, and I’m glad my senator accurately reflects those values.