Despite vehemently opposing using age-old methods of conservation and predator control (read: hunting), Connecticut is doubling down on protecting their bear population by allowing residents to shoot bears.
Wait…what?
In what sounds like an ass-backwards effort to appease animal advocacy groups hell bent on saving Yogi Bear, Gov. Ned Lamont recently signed into law a measure that allows residents to shoot and kill bears under certain circumstances: if a person “reasonably believes” a bear could seriously hurt a person or a pet, or if a bear is trying to enter a building with humans inside.
Connecticut is the only state in the northeast equipped with a healthy population of bears, but is without any open hunting seasons. As bear and human encounters continue to rise, residents are growing weary of their nightly trash can companions and are finally turning to a solution that works…guns.
The new stand-your-ground-around-bears law is being criticized by some as an ineffective solution that could ultimately make things worse for both bears and residents.
The thought of residents having the ability to blast bears in their neighborhood is rightfully drawing a degree of uneasiness throughout the state. And it should be. I love my neighbors, but am unsure how confident I am with them around bears or guns, not to mention the combination of the two.
The state’s leading bear biologist chimed in on the issue stating that the bear’s behavior is going to have to be managed to some degree to gain any traction in attempting to reduce encounters.
“It’s about altering the behavior of our bears and how they perceive humans,” said Jason Hawley, the leading bear biologist at the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, adding, “Bears don’t have a negative association with humans. In fact, I’d argue that they have a positive association with humans.”
Positively hungry, that is.
Bears in Connecticut and many other states have grown accustomed to neighborhood trash can buffets, overloaded bird feeders and backyard grills still holding on to a few lick’s of Sweet Baby Ray’s following the previous evening’s cookout. As anyone who has any experience with bears would tell you, you’re going to have a hard time keeping them at bay with that level of temptation around.
With an estimated 1,200 black bears roaming Connecticut, officials are beginning to see the contrast of data from nearby states that allow hunting. Maine lies roughly 200 miles north of Connecticut and is home to about 30,000 bears. The state has seemingly nailed the whole negative association thing, reporting very few human-bear interactions on an annual basis, all thanks to organized hunting seasons.
The truth is, managing apex predators such as bears or wolves is always a contentious issue. And while the folks that advocate for their safety seem to have their hearts in the right place, that love is misguided.
As more unprovoked attacks and break-ins continue to take place, these bears are going to be killed – either by gun-toting residents or by state wildlife officials.
This then begs the age-old question; at what point do we bring common sense into the equation and institute a safe and organized method of managing these critters?
