Rock Springs, WY (4/6/19) – The following is a portion of a press release issued Thursday from the Humane Society of the United States in regards to their recent proposal which would require hunters in grizzly bear county in Wyoming and Idaho to carry bear spray.
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A coalition of organizations today (Thursday) submitted petitions to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission and the Idaho Fish and Game Commission proposing rules to require hunters in grizzly bear habitat to carry bear spray. The proposals follow years of high grizzly bear mortalities due to hunter-related conflicts.
“Wyoming and Idaho have an opportunity to adopt a common-sense policy that will protect bears and hunters alike,” said Nicholas Arrivo, a staff attorney at the Humane Society of the United States. “The evidence that bear spray works is overwhelming, and the time to enact this life-saving proposal is now.”
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Although grizzly bear conflicts with people remain relatively rare, data shows increasing numbers of conflicts between grizzly bears and humans during the fall hunting season as grizzly bears are drawn to gut piles left by hunters or come face to face with hunters. Researchers and wildlife managers overwhelmingly agree that bear spray is the most effective means of deterring bear attacks and preventing human injury when encounters occur.
In recent years, Yellowstone’s grizzly bears have suffered record levels of human-caused mortality. As of 2017, the 15 bears fatally shot during encounters with hunters represent the leading human cause of grizzly bear mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, eclipsing the previous highest cause of grizzly bear death – lethal removals for livestock losses. Most human injuries caused by grizzly bears occur during encounters with hunters.
Mandatory bear spray could prevent these unnecessary casualties. Peer-reviewed studies have shown that bear spray is 98 percent effective at preventing human injuries during bear encounters. Firearms are only 50 percent effective.
To read the complete Human Society of American press release click here.
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