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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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”.