I can't help but feel that the bears are victims. We encroach on their territory, take their food and then shoot them when they get hungry and wander into town. They are only pursuing one of Life's basic needs and basic rights, the right to food.
Food in our society has become a commodity to be bought sold and traded to the hgighest bidder. Food, thus, becomes valued not for its intrinsic worth ,i.e., nourishment, but because people can make money buying and selling it. This changes society's relationship. To food and rather than viewing food as a basic human right it is now a means to make money. If society was to give away the surplus food that accumulates or to develop farming techniques that would increase the amount of food readily and freely available to all citizens, the stock market value of food would be challenged.
While I'm on stock markets, the black bear is not the only member of the bear family to face the threat of human incursion into their territory. The black bear's larger cousin, the grizzly has even more to worry about. As human development spreads, we humans need to pause and ponder what impact we are having on the ecosystem we share. Next week we'll look at what we can do in our own backyards.
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