Update: Good news! This legislation did not complete the legislative process this session.
Bill Description: If passed, this bill would allow the state Department of Natural Resources to issue permits for bear hunting enclosures.
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Bears are hunted using packs of dogs, which many deem as unfair, unsporting, and cruel. Confining the bears in pens is even more cruel. Moreover, the rare occurrences of bear/human conflicts will not be resolved by this sort of hunting season as a general hunting season will not lead to the elimination of the offending bears. Instead, the situation could be easily resolved if folks simply put away the bears’ source of food: garbage. Finally, black bears have one of the lowest reproduction rates of any mammal. According to Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation’s website, “… black bear populations have declined or have been eliminated in areas where land use changes have converted forest habitat to agricultural or urban developments. As human encroachment fragments forests, bear populations become patchy in their distribution. Because they’re sensitive to habitat loss, the black bear is often used by resource agencies as an indicator species to evaluate and monitor habitat quality and quantity.” The black bear population in the United States today is miniscule compared to what it once was. Today, American black bears are extinct or nearly so in 11 states that they originally inhabited. Persecution will only lead them back toward extinction. Better and more humane alternatives should be pursued instead of this cruel and unnecessary measure.