Ban on Baiting Alaska Bears With Bacon, Donuts May Soon Be Lifted
The US Interior Department is now moving to reverse a standing ban on hunters baiting brown bears with bacon and donuts in some public lands in Alaska. That's just part of the changes coming to hunting regulations, though, and there are more coming that are now alarming animal welfare advocates.
Certain hunting methods that have been banned by rules set up during the Obama administration will also be upturned, including the use of certain devices to hunt and kill black bears and wolves, according to CBS News.
Using spotlights to shoot hibernating mother black bears, with or without their cubs, will soon be fair game, so will be the practice of baiting brown bears with bacon and donuts, only to shoot them as they come for the tasty treats.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Certain bans on practices like the killing of bears with the help of dogs as well as the pursuit of swimming caribou using powered motorboats could be lifted as well.
That said, bear cubs, coyote and wolf pups and other animals also stand to lose their protection as instated by existing federal rules. Coyotes and wolves who are hiding out with their pups during the denning season will become fair game, too, as The Hill pointed out.
These and similar methods that are considered inhumane by wildlife protection advocates were banned on federal land in 2015. With the changes proposed by the Interior Department, states will be allowed to choose on their own whether to install or remove federal protections for wildlife in their region.
For Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, expanding hunting and fishing rights on federal lands has been one of the department's goals from last year. Zinke has also been known to have met with representatives of the National Rifle Association as well as the Safari club, a big game hunting lobby group.
The rollback of the Obama-era rules has drawn outrage from wildlife preservation advocates.
"Cruel and harmful hunting methods like killing bear cubs and their mothers near dens have no place on our national preserves," Collette Adkins, a lawyer and biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity advocacy group, said in reaction to the proposed policy.
The proposal has been published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, May 22. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed new rules.
"These federal lands are havens for wildlife and the National Park Service is mandated to manage these ecosystems in a manner that promotes conservation," Anna Frostic, a lawyer for the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement opposing the new policies.
"This proposed rule, which would allow inhumane killing of our native carnivores in a misguided attempt to increase trophy hunting opportunities, is unlawful and must not be finalized," she added.
