SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The assembly member who represents Lake Tahoe and a large swath of Northern California has presented Assembly Bill 1038 that would bring back the use of hound dogs to hunt bears in California, something outlawed for over a decade. Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick (R-Alturas) states she authored the bill to control the black bear population in the state.
“Bears are out of control in California, while rural communities live in fear of their lives and livelihoods. Wildlife managers need more tools to responsibly manage the bear population and protect the public,” stated Assemblywoman Hadwick. “This bill will keep bears wild and our communities safe.”
In 2012, Governor Brown signed Senator Ted Lieu’s SB 1221 which prohibited the use of dogs to pursue bears and bobcats while recreationally hunting them. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sent the governor a letter at the time, supporting Lieu’s bill.
“Hound hunting involves fitting hounds with radio collars that allow hunters to monitor dogs’ movement remotely. As many as 20 dogs are released to chase frightened bears and bobcats for hours and many miles, across all types
of terrain and even across private property. The dogs pursue their prey to the
point of exhaustion until the animal finally climbs a tree and a shooter arrives to
kill the animal at point-blank range,” explained the letter written by then-HSUS California State Director Jennifer Fearing.
At the time of SB1221, a 2011 Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, Inc. poll revealed that 83 percent of California voters opposed the practice of bear hounding.
Now the topic has resurfaced with Hardwick’s proposed bill for what she says is a dangerous problem with a black bear population of “60,000-80,000 bears” and if left unchecked, the dangers of bears encroaching on suburban and urban areas is resulting in “record high human-wildlife conflicts.”
California bear advocates are calling out the bill’s unverified bear count numbers, and Ann Bryant of the BEAR League says it’s more like 20-25,000 bears in the state. Bryant says there are more eyes on beloved bears, and one bear could result in 10-15 sighting calls a day, skewing the numbers for which no study has been completed.
“This proposed bill is so barbaric and cruel,” said Bryant. “The public is opposed to hounding.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) currently handles permits for bear hunting without dogs, or “harvesting.” The five-year average of harvesting from 2019-2023 was 1,262 a year, or 1.6-2.5 percent of any estimates of the California bear population. The CDFW report on its 2024 Bear Conservation Plan states there is “strong evidence that black bear populations have been stable” is all regions of the state over the past decade. “There is no evidence of any statistically credible population declines or increases.”
Even if the higher estimates of the bear population mentioned in Hardwick’s bill were true, allowing 1,700 permits a year for killing bears will not affect any “dangerous” bear populations near communities. Opponents of the use of hounds in bear hunting, as well as in the 2012 HSUS letter to Brown state that controlling bear population growth or protecting public safety with hounds will not be solved. The bill doesn’t change the number of permits allowed in the state per year, and opponets say adding the use of hounds is not a viable population control mechanism, just cruelty.
In the Wildlife Society’s 2023 story, Experimental test of the efficacy of hunting for controlling human-wildlife conflict, the authors say their study results provide support for strict measures focused on control of attractants and unnatural foods, and not increasing the killing of bears who come to the food sources.
“A suite of measures promoting coexistence including attractant management, education, enforcement of regulations on securing attractants, and local capacity building for management of conflicts will help to ensure viable populations of carnivores while limiting the potential negative effects on human safety and livelihoods,” states the story.
The core facts today are still the same as when Governor Brown signed SB1221 into law in 2012. Recreational hunt, hunting does not control a population. Even before 2012, just half of the bears killed annually were killed by hounding.
Hounding
Bear hounding is a hunting method that involves chasing bears with packs of trained dogs. It’s controversial because it can be harmful to both bears and dogs. The dogs have radio collars so the hunters can track them, and then when the collar shows the dogs have stopped, they can hike to the location of the cornered bear. Hunters can then use their judgment to decide if the bear should be harvested, or not, says Protect Our Wildlife.
This affects not only the bears but also the dogs and other wildlife. Bears can experience physical stress, hyperthermia, injuries, or death and pregnant bears can lose embryos. The dogs can be injured or killed during altercations with bears. Other wildlife can be affected by the dogs in their forest, but are the unintended subject of the hunt.
Governor Brown, your signature on SB 1221 would be a signal to the thousands of Californians who have contacted you and the legislature, and the millions of Californians who support this legislation that you oppose animal cruelty and support protecting wildlife. Every time California voters have faced a hunting or trapping ballot measure – in 1990 and again in 1996 to stop the trophy hunting of mountain lions and in 1998 to ban the use of indiscriminate body-gripping traps and poisons – they have favored more protections for wildlife. You have consistently supported animal welfare legislation and we urge you to build on your great record by signing SB 1221. – Fearing’s letter to Brown in 2012.
Hardwick’s bill hasn’t made it to committee yet and is expected to undergo hearings in the state Assembly in the coming weeks. There is no “fact sheet “for the proposed legislation, according to Hardwick’s office, but it will be released at a later date and will show reasons for the bill.
Besides Hardwick’s Assembly bill, Tahoe’s representative in the State Senate, Marie Alvarado-Gil, is proposing SB818 which would establish a pilot program known as “Tree and Free” in the County of El Dorado. She wants to have data collected on the “efficacy of authorizing permitted private houndspersons to proactively haze mountain lions deemed to be a potential threat to public safety, livestock, or other domestic animal by the department, animal damage control officer, or local enforcement agency.” If all goes well during the five-year test program, a report would be created to possibly expand the program to other areas.
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