Today, I go to www.salisburypost.com, to read the headlines, and bam, there's a huge picture of a dead bear. Being an animal lover, I was saddened that this bear was killed (I will not go into how badly this was mishandled by the Wildlife Commission). The worst part is that the Post puts a picture of the once-proud bear right on the front page, depicting it lying dead on the pavement. Disgraceful, that's all I can say. If this were someone's pet, a child, or even an adult, we wouldn't put a picture on the front page showing them lying dead on the ground. It almost seems that the press hounded this bear from day one, tracking it and following its every move, just for a story. Ultimately this led to the bear's demise.

People have become so distant from nature that when a wild animal comes around, they flip out and want to kill it. I don't know the full circumstances as to why the officer shot the bear, and maybe he had to, but if Wildlife had stepped in, contained the bear and removed it back to the wild, then this never would have happened. I understand we need cities, and I love the city, but it is no place for a bear. Agencies should realize this and work to get wild animals back to an area where they can be safe. Shooting the animal is never the answer unless it is in a state of suffering and there are no medical facilities around for the animal to be taken to.

I almost feel that society is at a point that people really just don't care about anything anymore. If we can't treat nature correctly, then how can we treat our families, friends, communities, and even ourselves correctly?

— Todd Sides

Salisbury