Great Dismal Swamp Refuge

Black bears roam the Great Dismal Swamp Refuge.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- A federal judge in Norfolk ruled Thursday that officials can proceed with a two-day black bear hunt scheduled to start Friday in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

Three wildlife groups and two southeastern Virginia residents went to court seeking a temporary restraining order.

They wanted the judge to postpone the hunt for a week and hold a full hearing on the matter.

U.S. District Henry Morgan Junior denied the request.

Morgan said the groups did not prove that the hunt would irreparably harm the black bear population in the refuge.

About 60 hunters are expected to take part in the hunt. They will be allowed to kill a total of 20 bears.

In Defense of Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute had sought to cancel the hunt with a letter-writing drive and online petition.

The two groups had sent a 14-page letter, along with the American Environment Foundation, on Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife. In it, they wrote that the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife "failed to comply with proper procedures and has ignored its duties under federal law to evaluate the environmental impacts of the hunt."

John Stasko, a refuge supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the department followed federal law and has provided information to the groups regarding its environmental assessment studies.

Stasko also said the groups had an opportunity over the last three years to raise objections but launched a final-week attempt to stop the hunt.

Suzanne Baird, the manager for the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, has said the refuge worked with biologists and concluded that the hunt "won't be a significant impact to the population" of black bears.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)