ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska wildlife managers say they need help: A growing number of black bears in the state are chowing down on too many caribou and moose, leaving too few for humans to eat.
So the state is poised for the first time to legalize the trapping of black bears.
Critics call the plan cruel: Bears are lured with buckets of raw meat and their paws are snared when they reach inside. Sometimes, bears end up chewing off a foot to get free.
“What is going to happen when the world looks at the barbaric management techniques that the state of Alaska has regressed to? We don’t need that,” said Wade Willis, an ex-wildlife worker turned agency watchdog.
Under the proposed regulations, any black bear, including sows and cubs, could be legally trapped.
The Alaska Board of Game, which sets hunting regulations, met Friday to begin debate and will likely delay a decision until next month to allow for public comment. If approved, it would be the first time since statehood in 1959 that bears could be legally trapped by anyone with a license.
Maine is the only other state that allows bear trapping.
About 75 black bears are trapped in the state each year, according to Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game, which is pushing for the legalized trapping. Fish and Game estimates there are about 100,000 black bears in Alaska.
