By Chad Love

In a move that most people expected, California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill that will outlaw the use of dogs for hunting bears and bobcats.

From this story in the Los Angeles Times: 
Hunters in California will no longer be allowed to use dogs to hunt bears and bobcats under legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown in response to complaints the practice is cruel and unsporting. Brown approved the ban, which takes effect Jan. 1, after heavy lobbying by groups including the Humane Society of the United States and a coalition of celebrities including Doris Day, Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Maher. The bill was introduced by Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), who noted that hunting bears with hounds has previously been outlawed in 14 states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wyoming. ``There is nothing sporting in shooting an exhausted bear clinging to a tree limb or a cornered bobcat,'' Lieu said Wednesday.

By Chad Love

A bill that would, among other things, allow the importation of polar bear trophies into the United States is getting the US Senate a bit, well, bearish themselves.

From this story on yahoonews.com:

On its last day in session before the election, the Senate tied itself in knots over 41 polar bear carcasses that hunters want to bring home from Canada as big game trophies. After punting tough decisions on far weightier issues like raising taxes and cutting spending, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., insisted that the Senate address the wide-ranging sportsmen's bill before voting on must-pass legislation to prevent the government from shutting down at the end of next week.

According to the story, the bill's polar bear provision would allow 41 hunters who killed polar bears in Canada, just before a 2008 ban on polar bear trophy imports took effect, to bring the bears across the border. The hunters involved were not able to bring the trophies home before the Fish and Wildlife Services listed them as a threatened species.

By Chad Love

Here you go, guys. She wants a ring. You want a new gun. Buy her the ring. Get the gun. Everyone lives happily ever after...

From this story in USA Today:

A Georgia jewelry store owner has come up with a new way to sell diamonds, WSB-TV reports. Give away free guns with each purchase. "A lot of our customers are hunters, and it just seemed like a great thing to do," Mike Geller, who owns two D. Geller and Son Jewelers, told the station. "It's unbelievable! There's websites that got a million hits about it." Customers who purchase diamonds worth $2,499 or more from the Cobb County stores get free hunting rifles.

By Chad Love

Last year, you may recall the Utah lab that accidentally shot his master in the buttocks while the pair were duck hunting.

Well, a similiar incident occurred recently in France.

From this story on abcnews.com:
The last thing an experienced hunter would expect is to be shot by his “best friend” while they’re out hunting together. Especially when “best friend” actually refers to his dog. But that’s exactly what happened last weekend to 55-year-old Rene of France, who refused to give his last name. “He jumped on me as if to give me a hug,” said Rene, “and as he jumped, his paw hit the trigger.”