Is It Legal to Hunt Bears in Alaska

Alaska is home to four main species of bears. Brown bears (Ursus arctos), black bears (Ursus americanus), grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) – not to mention polar bears (Ursus maritimus). The National Park Service issued a rule in 2015 that challenged parts of that idea by explicitly banning things like killing mothers with babies, shooting floating caribou from boats, and using dogs to hunt bears. With everything that has been happening in the world lately, it seemed like I was already living in the Fourth Dimension. Then, in a déjà vu episode, another amazing headline appeared in my News Feed. He said, « The Trump administration is making it easier for hunters to kill cubs and cubs in Alaska, » with the slogan: « The ban on luring mothers out of their dens with donuts and other treats will be lifted. » I remembered seeing the same articles in 2018, so it didn`t take long to figure out what they were. Lawsuits against Alaskans who claim DLP bears are killed are rare. Meanwhile, there are convictions everywhere for illegally shooting bears: Alaskan bush villagers who were caught shooting and throwing bears were beaten on their hands. Wildlife leaders have been fined tens of thousands of dollars in some cases.

« It didn`t work that it would be one size fits all, » said Ryan Scott, assistant director of wildlife conservation at ADFG. « We realized early on that some hunts have very specific requirements and they are there for a reason and the number of permits available for management purposes is there. Ultimately, we looked at spring 2021 and spring 2022 as places where we could take the spring 2020 permits and postpone them. « You`ll have the chance to see polar bears in Alaska National Parks. But you can try your luck more at Arctic parks like Cape Krusenstern National Monument or Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. « The National Park Service was founded more than a hundred years ago on the principle of maintaining our nation`s treasures for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations, » said Sally Jewell, who served as interior secretary during the Obama administration. The new rule change « is misguided and incompatible with the tradition of subsistence and recreational hunters as conservationists who appreciate the need to maintain the balance of nature. » According to KXDF News, the new regulations will have no impact on those who hunt indoors. Polar bear hunting is also illegal in Alaska and they are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

However, Native American tribes living in Alaska are the only groups legally allowed to hunt polar bears. Bear meat is game meat. And like all game meats, bear meat contains fewer calories and saturated fats, and it`s generally free of mixed additives. Many hunters agree that bear meat is a challenge in the kitchen. It must be cooked with great care, especially when it comes to making it tasty. This might immediately put you off – but if you lay out the meat properly and cook it expertly, you can really enjoy bear meat. Any impact the new regulations might have on wildlife will be difficult to spot, he adds, because federal and state officials don`t track the number of animals hunted in a way that records where they`ve been killed — in national reserves or elsewhere. There is also no data on the number of people who could use the newly licensed hunting methods.

In August, a public opinion poll of 984 Alaskans found that 68 percent of them oppose hunters in national nature reserves killing cubs in their burrows, killing wintering bears and baiting bears with human food. « What about the possibility of killing cougar kittens on federal reservations in the state of Utah? » Ripple says. « Or bobcats, coyotes, wolves and bears? There are all kinds of predators living on reserves in the 48 lower states. And while travel restrictions limited the number of bear hunters last spring, Scott said many « figured out how to go bear hunting and even how to maneuver as part of travel mandates to make sure they met the requirements, but were still able to take advantage of the opportunity. » The repeal of a rule banning controversial hunting practices in Alaska`s national preserves has raised concerns that the National Park Service is ceding control to states with less conservation-oriented goals.