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A new bill would block the hunting of black bears in North Carolina sanctuaries

A group of legislators is seeking to block a ruling that would allow limited black bear hunting in North Carolina sanctuaries. AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File

A Greensboro lawmaker has co-sponsored a bill seeking to block bear hunting in North Carolina sanctuaries. 

House Bill 1072 was filed by Representative Pricey Harrison along with 12 fellow Democrats. The legislation would halt a ruling by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission that would allow limited black bear hunting in three Western North Carolina bear sanctuaries.

Commission officials say the ruling is needed to help slow the growth rate of the bear population in the mountains, where there has been an increase in bear encounters with humans.

But activists have been speaking out against the bear sanctuary proposal, which has also garnered overwhelming public opposition.

Representative Harrison tells the Smoky Mountain News that it makes no sense to allow bear killing in bear sanctuaries and calls it “a terrible rule.”

Representatives from the House Wildlife Resources Committee say they need more time to learn about the issue and investigate other possible solutions.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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