Vermont Rejects Bear Baiting

Vermont’s Fish and Wildlife Board just shut down bear baiting for hunters—11 to 1—despite growing bear numbers and human-bear conflicts costing the state a million bucks a year. While some hunters saw baiting as a smarter way to control the population and avoid killing moms with cubs, biologists said the science doesn’t back it up—and environmentalists warned it could wreck bear behavior and food sources like beech nuts. Still, the board did approve two bear tags and a longer fall season—so hunters can still get their fix, just without the bait. More rules, including possibly banning sow kills, are coming next month. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/d3bceae7d4c594ba