ALASKA, USA — This week, the Trump administration reversed an Obama-era guideline that prohibited hunters from shooting hibernating mother bears and cubs in their dens, according to CBS News.
The Obama administration put the National Park hunting bans in place back in 2015. However, starting on July 9, hunting on nature preserves in Alaska will be controlled by the state, instead of the federal government.
The announcement comes following years of pleading by environmental and wildlife protection groups.
The new rules will allow the baiting of brown and black bears with human foods, as well as the hunting of bears in the dens using artificial light. In addition, the killing of wolves and coyotes in the dens when mothers wean their young will be permitted. Using dogs to hunt bears and hunting of swimming caribou from boats will also be allowed CBS News reports.
Before former President Obama banned these actions, they were allowed by the state of Alaska. The Trump administration has been working to reverse the ban since 2017.
Last month, Alaska's governor Michael J. Dunleavy said the reversal "confirms the sovereign authorities the state has with respect to managing wildlife on our national preserve lands. This is a step towards acknowledging Alaska's rightful control over fish and wildlife resources all across the state."
According to Business Insider, the Trump administration said the ban wasn't "consistent with the rest of Alaska's hunting regulations," which aims to get rid of predators so human hunters can go after the state's caribou population.
However, not everybody is happy about the reversal. Some animal advocacy groups see it as a major setback. It describes them as trophy hunting tactics that are "horribly cruel".
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