Trump administration expands bear-killing practices

Hunters will soon be allowed to venture into national preserves in Alaska and engage in practices that conservation groups say are reprehensible: baiting hibernating bears from their dens with doughnuts to kill them and using artificial light such as headlamps to scurry into wolf dens to slaughter mothers and their pups. 

With a final rule published Tuesday in the Federal Register, the Trump administration is ending a five-year-old ban on the practices, which also include shooting swimming caribou from a boat and targeting animals from airplanes and snowmobiles...

The move was praised by members of the state’s congressional delegation and Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy (R), who called it “a step toward acknowledging Alaska’s rightful control over fish and wildlife resources all across the state.” 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said the decision “protects Alaska’s hunting and fishing traditions and upholds long-standing states’ rights,” and she thanked Interior Secretary David Bernhardt for encouraging and signing the rule.

Text and image from the Washington Post, where there is additional information re the justifications offered for the rule changes.