Whoever staged scene must be held responsible

In response to Ms. Cindy Aase, you must not understand the importance of sportsmen. When they harvest a big game animal, they help keep the animal population in balance and free of a lot of disease that would otherwise harm the population.

I believe an animal suffering from parasites or overcrowding is far more disturbing to see than any suffering that is caused by sportsmen hunting.

I'm sure Ms. Copley and yourself are fine people but the fact remains that the table was staged and set up for the purpose of getting the bears to show up there.

A dozen hamburger buns all laid out, no ketchup, mayo or pickles? I'm not an idiot nor are the people who saw the picture and decided for themselves that this was wrong. (I talked to many who thought it was wrong.)

Whoever did the staging should be held accountable for their actions. And, once again, shame on the Bee for promoting the actions in this picture to the public as if it was OK to do this.

If you moved here to this beautiful area for all that it has, remember that a lot of people here hunt in a fair chase condition.

Do not speak as if you are a majority opinion concerning the harming of animals in hunting season. Hunters pay Fish and Game authorities to see that the animals are taken care of. This is done with the purchase of hunting tags and licenses, which support our Fish and Game officers and their agencies. Not one penny comes from non-hunters' tax dollars.

So, if you really want a say in the matter, buy a hunting license, otherwise sit back and enjoy what the sportsmen and women of Bonner County are giving you for free.

Please do not encourage the feeding of wild animals, it only makes it harder for them to do what comes nationally. You should take note that, at Sam Owen Park, there have been a large number of deer killed because of the practice of feeding the animals.

I'm positive this is not the fault of hunting season.

BRUCE BANGEMAN

Ponderay