Bear baiting hurts hunting image

My View, by Steve Kadel

There's good news for Alaska's sportsmen these days. Petitioners hoping to ban bear baiting in the state have collected more than the 23,285 signatures required to put the initiative on the November 2004 ballot.

Supporters of the initiative will continue gathering names until the Jan. 12, 2004, deadline to offset some possible disqualifications when the Alaska Division of Elections begins checking to see if signers are registered Alaska voters.

The initiative would amend state law to prohibit baiting or intentionally feeding bears. The proposed initiative petition states, "A person may not bait or intentionally feed a bear for the purpose of hunting, photographing or viewing. Under this section, to 'bait' or 'intentionally feed' means to intentionally give, deposit, distribute, discard, scatter or otherwise expose any attractant or edible material in order to attract or entice a bear into, or to remain in, a location or area."

Violation would be a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.

The state's sportsmen, those who believe in fair chase hunting, should view the initiative as beneficial for hunting in general. It's hard to imagine a less sporting way to shoot a bear than by putting out bacon grease, doughnuts, fish heads or other aromatic substances and firing away when a bruin inevitably shows up.

The practice is not only morally repugnant and a lazy excuse for hunting, but it's dangerous as well. Habituating bears to handouts from humans is asking for trouble, as any park ranger will attest. The saying "A fed bear is a dead bear" means bears will keep coming around after the free lunch is over, eventually setting up encounters with humans.

Baiting attracts grizzlies as well as black bears, even though state law allows only the taking of black bears at bait stations.

Current law also prohibits establishing bear bait stations within a mile of a residence. That would seem like a no-brainer, but Alaska State Troopers reported violations of that and other laws relating to bear baiting this year. On May 20, Sean Rash of Wasilla was cited by Big Lake Fish and Wildlife troopers for placing a bait station within a mile of a permanent dwelling on Point MacKenzie.

In many cases, those who establish bait stations don't bother to clean them up when the season is over. On Sept. 15 -- six weeks after the season closed -- troopers cited Carl James Bates of Wasilla for failing to remove litter, bait and equipment from his station in Game Management Unit 16B. In the Interior, Richard Lightner of North Pole was cited by troopers Aug. 20 for failing to remove litter from his bait station.

Others can't wait for the season to begin. On May 15, Jeffrey Forster of Wasilla pleaded no contest in Palmer District Court to charges of placing bait at a bear station at Point MacKenzie before the season opened, according to troopers. He was fined $1,000 with $500 suspended and put on two years' probation.

Rick J. Strand of Copper Center violated more than one aspect of baiting law. Troopers said he pleaded no contest July 22 in Glennallen District Court for failing to clean up a black bear site, for operating a bait station within a mile of a residence, and for failing to seal a black bear within 30 days. Strand was fined $900, his Alaska hunting license was revoked for a year, and he was ordered to immediately clean up both of his black bear sites.

For every violation detected by troopers there are likely many more that go undetected, especially since budget cuts have affected the agency's enforcement capability.

Of course, there is a certain percentage of people in any group who refuse to play by the rules. But with bear baiting, even following the law results in an ugly outcome. There isn't any way to justify the practice as ethical, a point that separates true sportsmen from bear baiters.

The baiting initiative was devised by hunters George Pollard, Lowell Thomas Jr. and John Erickson. Pollard, 77, was a hunting guide in Alaska for 35 years; Thomas is former lieutenant governor of the state; and Erickson earned the title of master guide.

Alaska is among a minority of states that still allow bear baiting. Its prohibition at the ballot box will be something for hunters and non-hunters alike to cheer.

Steve Kadel is a Frontiersman reporter, covering the court and police beat.