The U.S. Interior Department published a rule on Friday permitting hunters to use food baiting when hunting bears on federal lands in Alaska, set to take effect in mid-November. The rule replaces a 2024 Biden administration prohibition on the practice and allows hunters to use bacon, doughnuts, meat scraps, and other human foods to attract bears at close range for hunting purposes.
Opponents characterize the practice as dangerous and unethical. Drew Robertson, senior regulatory specialist for Humane World for Animals, stated the rule is “cruel and dangerous, not only to wildlife but the public as well.” Environmental groups have criticized the move as “indefensible and inexcusable.” Critics assert that baiting bears makes them more aggressive around humans and argue the rule change represents a political benefit to trophy hunting interests. According to Nicholas Arrivo, a managing attorney at Animal Protection Law, hunters typically use high-fat and high-sugar foods placed in steel drums or garbage cans, then shoot bears from nearby blinds at short range.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the rule in a press release, stating it was developed in response to demands from Alaska residents and provides “a commonsense framework and gives Alaskans a stronger voice in decisions affecting the lands, wildlife and traditions they know best.” The rule defers to state regulations rather than specifying permitted foods.
The regulation comes as part of a broader pattern of wildlife hunting policy changes. Alaska and federal officials have recently authorized controversial practices including helicopter hunting of bears, shooting swimming caribou from motorboats, killing wolf pups in dens, and using artificial lights to draw bears from dens before killing them. Approximately a dozen states permit similar bear baiting practices, though the majority do not.
The Trump administration issued the rule through an executive order titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.” The baiting rule has a complex history, having been implemented by the Obama administration, rescinded during the first Trump administration, upheld through litigation, and then reinstated by the Biden administration in 2024. Legal experts have suggested the current rule change may face constitutional challenges.
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