Bear bill approved by state Senate
Measure OKS killing in certain circumstances; hunt off table for now
A bill that authorizes the killing of bears in specific self-defense or nuisance circumstances and prohibits the feeding of dangerous wildlife cleared the state Senate in a 31-3 vote Thursday.
“This bill is a bipartisan effort to balance the protection of the citizens of the state, while not unduly harming native wildlife,” Environment Committee Chair Sen. Rick Lopes said. “No law, however well-crafted or extreme, will stop dangerous interactions between bears and humans. It’s not going to stop. We talk about our neighboring states that have bear hunting laws, they also have the same bear-human interactions. So hopefully, we’re hoping this bill is a good step forward.”
The bear bill — and its initial proposal for a black bear hunt in Litchfield County — emerged as a source of controversy this session. Lawmakers from the Environment Committee voted to drop language that would have permitted an annual hunt, but calls to bring back the provision revived after a black bear bit a 74-year-old woman in Avon earlier this month.
Senators opted not to resurrect the hunt Thursday. But Connecticut’s bears aren’t celebrating just yet — S.B. 1148 goes to the House next, where Minority Leader Vincent Candelora said Republicans could propose a bear hunting amendment on the House floor, forcing a vote.
“There’s aspects of the bill that I think some individuals would like to see that may not be in (it). There’s some aspects of the bill that are in the bill that individuals may not want to see in (it). But at the end of the day, I think what we see here is a collaborative solution to a critical issue throughout our state,” Ranking Member of the Environment Committee Sen. Stephen Harding said.
Under the legislation, the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection commissioner may issue permits allowing property owners and lessees to kill wildlife “that threatens or causes damage to agricultural crops, livestock or apiaries,” once nonlethal efforts have been exhausted and a DEEP investigation determines that killing the wildlife is necessary.
S.B. 1148 also authorizes the use of deadly force to kill bears that are, or imminently likely to, inflict “great bodily harm” to a person or pet. Bears entering an occupied building may also be killed under this self-defense provision.
Intentional and unintentional feeding of potentially dangerous wild animals such as bobcats, coyotes, foxes and bears is also prohibited by S.B. 1148. Advocates hope that this mandate, coupled with a public information campaign, will reduce the number of hungry bears roaming into yards for free food — negating the need for a hunt.
DEEP recorded more than 9,300 bear conflicts between 2020 and 2022, including two attacks on humans and 67 bear home invasions reported last year.
At 1,000 to 1,200 strong, Connecticut’s bear population has multiplied over the last decade, but DEEP pointed out that while “MA has almost four times the number of bears CT does … CT has a much higher number of reported conflicts and vehicle collisions.”
Bear hunt proponents said that this is indicative of the fact that Massachusetts’ bear hunting season works.
Supporters say that the benefits of a controlled bear hunt will be twofold — it will reduce the growing population of bears and increase their fear of humans. But opponents argue that opportunistic feeding is the ultimate driver of human-bear conflicts.
By restricting the ability to gobble up bird feeders and unsecured trash, they say bears will stop going to residential areas for food.