Curious if
@Smues has any comments on this.
Rules allow hunting practices that target bears and wolves, including pups or cubs, on federal land in Alaska
www.theguardian.com
"Sport hunters use the practices, like killing young in their dens, to eliminate predators of caribou, which are considered trophy animals. The killings are probably decimating predator populations on federal Alaskan preserves, said Jeff Ruch, Pacific director with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The rules come after the Obama administration in 2015 had banned a range of the controversial practices. The Trump administration’s National Park Service (NPS) undid the Obama rules in its final year, and the Biden administration had
proposed reinstating the Obama rules.
But it largely re-published the
Trump rules, generating dismay and outrage among some environmental groups.
Among other practices, the new rules permit: the killing of wolf and coyote pups in dens; the use of artificial light or dogs to draw bears or wolves and their young out of caves; and using motorboats to kill swimming caribou.
The new rules reinstated a ban on “bear baiting” in which food is used to attract bears that are shot as they approach the bait. Ruch said the Biden administration banned the practice not out of concern for the animals, but because it caused bears to see humans as a food source, which created a safety risk."
