Federal Rule Restores Alaska Bear Baiting on 1 Date in November

The federal government will again let hunters on Alaska's federal lands lure bears with food such as bacon, doughnuts and meat scraps.

The Interior Department published the rule in the Federal Register on Friday, Oct. 23. It takes effect in mid-November. The rule replaces a 2024 Biden administration measure that prohibited baiting, and it stems from an executive order Donald Trump signed early in his second term titled Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential.

The rule does not list specific foods. It defers to state regulations, which permit baiting. Nicholas Arrivo, a managing attorney at Animal Protection Law, said hunters generally choose "the cheapest and most effective food, which is high fat and high sugar". Hunters typically place food in a steel drum or garbage can, watch from a nearby blind, and shoot the bear at short range.

The issue has cycled through administrations. Barack Obama's administration first imposed a ban. The first Trump administration reversed it. Litigation upheld the Obama rule and overturned the Trump rule. The Biden administration reinstated the ban in 2024, citing science that indicates baiting makes bears more aggressive and endangers park visitors. About a dozen states allow similar practices, though more states do not.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a press release that the rule answers requests from Alaska residents. He described it as a "commonsense framework" that gives Alaskans "a stronger voice in decisions affecting the lands, wildlife and traditions they know best".

Drew Robertson, a senior regulatory specialist for Humane World for Animals, called the baiting provision "cruel and dangerous, not only to wildlife but the public as well". He also said it is "a more extreme practice than the hunting traditions that people think of, and many hunters would not see this as a fair chase". Environmental groups called the measure "indefensible and inexcusable".

Arrivo said scrapping the 2024 rule, which went through what he described as a more robust scientific process, "doesn't smell right and raises questions about the legality of this rule". No decision has been made on a lawsuit.