Judge upholds a rule that established multiple protections for brown bears, including a prohibition on baiting.
To those who participated in the recent public comment period for the DOI's proposed rule and responded to our call to action, thank you! Your voice matters—wildlife belongs to all citizens and to the wild places we all steward.
A federal court has ruled against allowing the baiting of Alaska’s iconic
brown bears in the state’s Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The Court
determined that state law, and its more liberal allowances around the
killing of bears, should not trump federal management of wildlife on public
lands.
This decision is the result of a lawsuit in which our National Coalition
co-founders at the Humane Society of the United States and partner
organizations intervened in 2017. The final order upholds a rule from the
Obama administration that established multiple protections for brown bears,
including a prohibition on baiting.
In addition to this court decision, Americans across the country spoke out
loudly and clearly against a more recent Department of Interior proposed
rule change that would also allow baiting of Alaska’s brown bears. Although
this court order does not directly stop the DOI proposed rule to allow
baiting, it does support our argument and the Obama-era rulemaking that
baiting is not sound wildlife management.
In light of this court decision and the encouraging national election
results, we remain hopeful that the incoming administration will not
finalize the DOI rule to allow baiting- and will take the necessary steps to
reverse the many other harms our wildlife and wildlands have suffered over
the last several years. With key appointments to the Department of the
Interior, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and other federal agencies, we hope
to see conservation-related protections strengthened, resulting in a vibrant
and sustainable environment that views and values wildlife and wildlands as
critical to a thriving biosphere.
Thank you for all of your support and for speaking out against injustice to
our wildlife and wild places!
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