Biden Moves to End Doughnut Lures and Other Bear Hunting Tactics in Alaska

The National Park Service is moving to prohibit hunters from baiting black bears with doughnuts and using spotlights to shoot bears in their dens on some public lands in Alaska.

The National Park Service proposed a rule on Friday that would restore some restrictions that were removed by the Trump administration.

Hunting wolves and pups in their dens would no longer be allowed under the new policy.

Since 2020, those and other methods have been allowed on millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness despite being banned on federal lands. The new rule would restore consistency and protect the public, according to agency officials.

The National Park Service stated that the proposal would lower the risk that bears will associate food with humans and become conditioned to eating human-produced foods.

Activists said it was a victory for their cause.

Kitty Block, president of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement that the government must protect our nation's wildlife and not be working hand in hand with trophy hunters to sanction some of the most ruthless killing methods.

Sara Amundson is the president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.

She said that baiting bears to blast them over doughnuts is not right.

Hunting rights were prioritized by the Trump administration. Donald Trump Jr. advocated trophy hunting. The president's son was auctioned a weeklong " dream hunt" through Alaska by theSafari Club International, which promotes big-game hunting.

The Obama-era restrictions on hunting were considered an encroachment on state rights by many hunting advocates. The Biden administration plan was called a clear violation of federal law by Senator Dan Sullivan.

The legal battle is likely to go on for a long time.

The case is still pending after a group of groups sued the government over a policy. Hunting advocates may challenge the plan by the end of the year. The group that says it will oppose any increased restrictions on hunting access did not respond to a request for comment.