Wyoming, Idaho Petitioned to Require Hunters to Carry Bear Spray

Proposal Would Save Human, Grizzly Bear Lives

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2019/grizzly-bear-04-04-2019.php

Center for Biological Diversity, The Humane Society of the United States, Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardians, Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, Western Watersheds Project, Natural Resources Defense Council

JACKSON, Wyo.— Conservation organizations submitted petitions today to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission and Idaho Fish and Game Commission proposing rules to require hunters in grizzly bear habitat to carry bear spray. The proposals follow years of high grizzly bear mortalities due to hunter-related conflicts. “Wyoming and Idaho have an opportunity to adopt a common-sense policy that will protect bears and hunters alike,” said Nicholas Arrivo, a staff attorney at the Humane Society of the United States. “The evidence that bear spray works is overwhelming, and the time to enact this lifesaving proposal is now.” Although grizzly bear conflicts with people remain relatively rare, data shows increasing numbers of conflicts between grizzly bears and humans during the fall hunting season as grizzly bears are drawn to gut piles left by hunters or come face to face with hunters in surprise encounters. When encounters do occur, researchers and wildlife managers overwhelmingly agree that bear spray is the most effective means of deterring bear attacks and preventing human injury.

“Bear spray has been proven time and time again to be the most effective tool in preventing injury to both people and bears in close encounters, including hunting conflicts,” said Bonnie Rice, senior representative for the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America Campaign. “It’s common sense to require hunters to carry bear spray, and agencies should act now to make it mandatory.” In recent years Yellowstone’s grizzly bears have suffered record levels of human-caused mortality. As of 2017 the 15 bears fatally shot during encounters with hunters represent the leading human cause of grizzly bear mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, eclipsing the previous highest cause of grizzly bear death: lethal removals for livestock losses. Most human injuries caused by grizzly bears occur during encounters with hunters. Mandatory bear spray could prevent these tragic and unnecessary casualties. Peer-reviewed studies have shown that bear spray is 98 percent effective at preventing human injuries during bear encounters. Firearms are only 50 percent effective.

“Some have suggested that a gunshot during hunting season is like a dinner bell to a grizzly bear, at a time when bears are filling their bellies before denning,” said Andrea Santarsiere, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “A mandate requiring hunters to carry bear spray would save the lives of people and bears.” “This common-sense safety measure is akin to requiring a helmet when riding a bike,” said Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate at WildEarth Guardians. “We know it works, and we know it saves lives, so it should be standard practice.” “It’s clear and simple; bear spray works,” said Kristin Combs, executive director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates. “Hunters are extremely vulnerable, especially deep in bear habitat precisely when the animals are actively searching for food. This one easy practice will undoubtedly save the lives of both humans and bears.” There is still a lot of work to be done before grizzly bear conservation can be called a success. Reducing bear mortalities and human injury by requiring hunters to carry bear spray is an obvious and effective policy with no downsides. Wyoming and Idaho have 60 days to respond to the petitions.



http://time.com/5270214/does-pepper-spray-work-on-bears/

The research confirms that it’s highly effective. A 20-year study, published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, of bear-spray incidents in Alaska found that these sprays stopped a bear’s “undesirable behavior” more than 90% of the time. The few times someone using spray sustained an injury, that injury was minor. Even when wind interfered with the spray’s accuracy, it still reached the bear and helped scare it off, the study shows.

Some of the same researchers conducted a related study on the use of firearms as bear deterrents, and found them to be more or less useless. “If you manage to shoot the bear—and that’s a big if—you may just wound it and make everything worse,” Servheen says. Bear spray, on the other hand, infuses and irritates the mucous membranes in the bear’s eyes and nose. “The bear can’t smell or see, and it’s in pain, so all it wants to do is get out of there,” he says. (The spray wears off after an hour or two, and there is no lasting harm done to the bear, he adds.)

But there are a few important caveats for those heading outdoors armed with bear spray.

For one thing, it won’t do you any good at all if you keep it stowed in your pack, stuffed in your sleeping bag, or stashed anyplace else out of reach. “If you can’t get to it in a matter of seconds, it’s not much use to you,” Servheen says. He recommends wearing it on your belt or pack strap, or keeping it in a pants pocket that’s easily accessible.

Also, bear spray doesn’t work like bug spray; you can’t spritz some of it on your backpack or tent and expect bears to keep their distance. The spray is only effective when discharged into a bear’s face at fairly close range. How close? “Twenty to thirty feet at most,” Servheen says.


(Nice to know bear spray works, but I thought this was a funny sign)