House Gives Final Approval To Bear Management Bill

Hartford—The House has approved a bear management bill.  State Representative Patrick Callahan (R-New Fairfield) voted in favor of the bill but believes more needs to be done to reduce bear-human interactions.

State law generally prohibits the killing of bears, but this bill addresses the taking of bears in self-defense, allows the taking of certain nuisance wildlife, and prohibits intentionally feeding potentially dangerous animals.

“The Environment Committee heard testimony on other bills that would have gone further in our efforts to protect residents from the rise of bear-human interactions and bears entering homes. The experts and bear biologists from DEEP testified in support of a bear hunt in Litchfield County, but that idea did not make it out of committee. Connecticut remains one of two states that does not allow any bear hunting, even as the bear population grows, and human encounters increase year after year,” said Callahan.

Callahan introduced a bill this session to require DEEP to develop a comprehensive bear management program, which is similar to items addressed in HB 1148.

“This proposal originally included a provision allowing DEEP to set up a lottery system for hunters to kill up to 50 black bears each year in Litchfield County, but that was taken out of the bill before it headed to the Senate.  DEEP reported last year that conflicts between humans and bears are continuing to rise, and the trend is continuing this year. As the bear population grows, and human encounters increase year after year,” added Callahan.

According to DEEP, bears spend time in neighborhoods because food sources are abundant and easy to access (birdfeeders, garbage, open compost, grills, etc.) They will readily use these food sources and revisit the same location over and over again. Bears that are attracted to human-associated food sources may lose their fear of people.

The bill now awaits Governor Lamont’s signature.