State animal coalition aims to protect bears
Five animal advocacy groups have teamed up to create the Connecticut Coalition to Protect Bears, aimed at using educational outreach and legislative advocacy to help people and the state’s native black bears co-exist.
The groups — Humane Society of the United States, Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, Friends of Animals, CT Votes for Animals and Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitators Association — say they created the coalition because of what they deem is misleading information about black bears, including that the population needs to be managed with a hunt. and not non-lethal means.
Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals, said in a statement that, “the truth is, black bears aren’t breaking down doors to harm you, your children or your pets like some scene out of a horror movie.”
While it is now illegal to hunt bears in Connecticut, the group points to previous efforts to change that law, and the lack of information about the nature of bear behavior and preventing human-bear interactions. The effort also comes as the bear population of the state grows, and news of problems created by bears resounds with residents in many communities.
About why the coalition was created now despite years of proposed hunting legislation, Feral said in an email that the timing was right to unify opposition to what the groups sees as misinformation.
By the numbers
There are an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 bears in Connecticut, Will
Healey, spokesperson for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said in an email. The agency responds to multiple bear calls daily — dozens per day during the spring and summer when bears are most active, he said.
The bear population also has moved beyond the northwest corner of the state, Healey said, noting that bears have been seen in eastern Connecticut and along the shoreline.
So far this year there have been 8,044 bear sightings reported statewide, according to DEEP’s Wildlife Sighting Public Viewer.
In 2018, 21 bears entered home in Connecticut, according to DEEP and in that year there were 1.300 reported human-bear interactions.
The law
It is illegal to hunt or trap bears according to state law, but a person may kill a bear in self-defense or if they believe it is going to seriously harm or kill someone. Under the law, farmers can manage nuisance wildlife with a permit from DEEP when it is shown that the wildlife is causing unreasonable damage to agricultural crops.
Anyone who violates this law can be fined, face imprisonment and will get their hunting licenses suspended.
DEEP can “take”, which means shoot, kill, capture or trap, an animal for public health and safety reasons and may also destroy and dispose of any undesirable wildlife detrimental to crops or livestock or that cause severe property damage.
Over the last several years, bills have been introduced to the state legislature aimed at allowing bear hunting in Connecticut. Currently, bear hunting is allowed in other northeast states such as Vermont,
Maine, New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Each state has varying restrictions, such as limits in a calendar year or on the number by hunting and by trapping.
In 2019, a bill was introduced to the General Assembly by state Sens. Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, and Eric Berthel, R-Watertown, to allow a bear hunt in Litchfield County.
Senate Bill 586 would have permitted the “taking” of black bears at a rate that does not exceed five percent of the total population and would have required a report to be filed with the General Assembly about the number of black bears “taken”, the number of licenses issued by DEEP to hunt black bears and any recommendations of DEEP’s commissioner, records show.
The bill was sent to the Environment Committee, where it was revised to narrow the bill’s intent to addressing farmers’ concerns about damage done by bears and nuisance wildlife.
The language amended state law to include livestock, poultry, and bees as permissible damages for the issuance of a DEEP permit regarding the management of nuisance wildlife, allowed DEEP to determine the time and day necessary to control the taking of such wildlife and allowed the farmer to keep any wildlife “taken” pursuant to the permit, records show.
DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes testified before the committee in 2019 , stating that the return of the black bear population should be celebrated but they had seen an increase in human-bear interactions. She testified that 63 bears were killed by vehicles in 2018, which was the highest one year total on record at that time.
“... the most extreme cases of human-bear interaction reports of bears entering homes has risen from seven incidents in 2015 to 21 in 2018,” Dykes testified.
She testified that DEEP was in favor of the bill “to authorize a limited bear hunt in Litchfield County.”
Others also testified on both sides of the bill to allow hunting, with proponents noting the growing number of the animals in the state, negative or dangerous interactions with people and that other states allow hunts. Opponents testified on a numbers of factors, including that a hunt would be “irresponsible and unneeded” and that black bears are crucial to the state ecosystem, by helping regulate insect populations, dispersing seeds, opening canopies, and amending soil.
The bill, with the narrowed language, was defeated in May 2019 but a second bill passed requiring DEEP to provide lawmakers with a report on non-lethal ways to control the bear population.
In January 2021, Proposed Bill 5627, introduced by Rep. Mark Anderson sought to prohibit the deliberate feeding of black bears in the state and allow authorize a limited bear hunting season across Connecticut. The bill was sent to the Environment Committee and went no further, records show.
Don’t feed the bears
Healey said it is extremely rare for bears to be aggressive toward humans but the probability of injury from bears increases as the bear population increases, specifically as the presence of bears in highly developed towns has increases.
“The increased presence of human-habituated bears may lead to a greater chance for humans being injured. The primary contributing factor to bear nuisance problems is the presence of easily-accessible food sources near homes and businesses,” Healey said.
Bears that are fed can become habituated and lose their fear of humans, potentially posing a threat to humans, pets and livestock if they associate homes with food sources, according to DEEP.
“Black bears are opportunistic feeders,” Feral said. “And they are being baited by people’s birdfeeders and trash.”
The most common reported bear conflicts are issues with trash cans and birdfeeders, followed by damage to structures and vegetation, according to DEEP.
On Sunday, a bear was killed when it collided with a car in Winsted.
Feral said, “It’s crucial that beekeepers and livestock producers use electric fencing.”