A new Trump administration rule allows hunters to bait bears on federal lands in Alaska with bacon, doughnuts, meat scraps or other human foods typically used to help kill the trophy animals at close range.
Opponents say the practice will cause bears to be more aggressive around humans, and allege that the rule change is a political gift to largely rightwing trophy hunters. The rule replaces a 2024 Biden administration rule that banned the practice, and environmental groups criticized the move as “indefensible and inexcusable”.
“We are discouraged to see this rule come back, specifically the bear baiting piece which is cruel and dangerous, not only to wildlife but the public as well,” said Drew Robertson, senior regulatory specialist for Humane World for Animals.
The US interior department on Friday published the rule on the federal register, and it will take effect in mid-November. It marks the latest in a series of rule changes at the state and federal levels since 2023 that allow trophy hunters to use what critics say are barbaric and unethical practices to kill animals.
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Trophy hunters must be dicks. Hunting has always been about the skill and the bush craft while these rich mates of Demented are hooked on murder and blood. Should go to a farm and shoot a cow or something.
They do! High fence hunts in Texas. You can buy any farm raised exotic animal you want and shoot it from behind a fence and have it butchered on site in a box truck where they’ll package and get it chilled so you can ship it back home.
Those people still take pictures of the animal, still take a trophy, and still call it “hunting”. It is the equivalent of spending 25,000 dollars to shoot a jersey cow.
I know a place in Texas like that. Apparently George Bush Jr had a place there too. Remember the code to the gate too, probably change by now. Guy try sell me his lawn care business in there. But he fuck that up. He thought great idea to keep number of mows down was by not watering the grass. Hence killing these rich fucks grass. Looking back now good fuck those people.
I hunt for pest control but also food to reduce my footprint. It’s enjoyable in some ways—out in nature, clean kills, etc.—but mostly it’s stressful come actual kill time and I feel bad every time. I often apologise for some reason because it just feels like the right thing to do. And it is so easy to kill with a gun, so fucking up a clean kill is really distressing. I’ll quickly finish the job, but end the day because I feel like the biggest piece of shit for fucking up something easy and causing suffering.
“Trophy” hunters aren’t dicks, they’re genuine psychos. They don’t feel things like the rest of us do. Even in my situation where it’s a numbers game on population control, so lots of killing, hunters don’t go numb to it. Trophy hunters were already numb before they even got into the “sport”.
They would absolutely do that if the farmer didn’t get mad at them for it.
“The move comes after Alaska and federal officials in recent years started allowing sport hunters to hunt big game with controversial practices, like shooting bears from helicopters, shooting swimming caribou from motor boats, killing wolf pups in their dens and using artificial lights to draw bears out of the dens to kill them.”
Disgusting.
They’re not even putting the donuts and bacon down themselves. They pay some guide company for a hunt, and the company will place the bait and tell the hunter where/when to go. Then they fly back to wherever they come from and don’t have to deal with the consequences of getting bears used to human food.
We should be convincing trophy hunters that humans are the ultimate prey. Especially ones holding lofty titles, like CEO, Chairman orPresident.