We Must Act Now to Protect the American Black Bear (Rep. Raul Grijalva)

I am deeply committed to being an advocate of endangered species and the environment for as long as I serve as a Member of Congress, and that includes opposing legislation that attempts to dismantle our most fundamental environmental laws.

I recently introduced The Bear Protection Act of 2007. This legislation that would help stop the illegal poaching of bears and conserve global bear populations and would address the harmful trade in bear gallbladders and bile without impacting a state’s ability to make fundamental decisions regarding bear management.

Poachers kill these bears, remove their gallbladders and can fetch literally thousands of dollars on the black market and can be worth more than gold or heroin by weight. We must act now to stop the unnecessary slaughter of the American black bear and protect them from the wanton destruction by unscrupulous dealers, who care more about profits than our natural resources.