Shooting bear was reasonable
I would like to respond to the article in the Oct. 2 newspaper about the police shooting the bear in Switzer Creek mobile home park.
Related Story:
Neighbors balk at bear killing
Recently having bear problems of my own, no thanks to the improper storage of garbage from surrounding neighbors, I strongly support the decision made by the officers to shoot the bear in Wednesday, Oct. 2, article.
Don't get me wrong, the bears are cute and cuddly but are also a danger to society - especially our society that fails to contain its garbage properly. A society that continues to think of the bears as if they are human beings that have a kinder nature but who fail to realize bears have been known to kill humans, especially if provoked.
Do we need someone to die to get our point across? Not hardly.
It may not seem right to some that killing the bear was wrong but it is just as wrong for people to continue to lure the bear back to society by improperly storing their garbage. It would be one thing if society was not doing something wrong for the bear to pay the consequences, but society is. Therefore, the bear pays the price - and thank heavens, only the bear and not a child walking home from school or yourself outside weeding your garden.
For Mr. Shakespeare to say the bear was harmless and was doing nothing is incorrect. The bear was eating someone's garbage that they neglected to store properly. The person who did that was wrong. I wonder if Mr. Shakespeare would feel the same way if his child was attacked by a bear coming home from school because the bear smelled the leftovers of that child's lunch in their backpack.
I commend the Juneau Police Department for their courage as well as their bravery for the actions they had to take because of the carelessness of our community. It's a shame another bear's life had to be taken because some of the community fails to take our garbage carelessness seriously.
Joey J. Tillson
Juneau