A Better Place for Bears

By Bob Galvin
ANIMAL WELLNESS ACTION
I awoke the morning of June 1 with a heaviness in my heart uncommon for this time of year. Usually, Vermont’s verdant splendor in late spring has my spirits high, but my mind was darkened by knowledge that I didn’t have until recently – June 1 begins Vermont’s bear-hound training season. Bear hounding involves hunters using packs of radio-collared hounds to pursue black bears until the terrified, exhausted bear climbs up a tree for safety or turns to fight the hounds on the ground. During the exceptionally long bear hunting season, hounders shoot defenseless bears from trees.

There’s no shortage of problems with bear hounding: psychological and physiological stressors to bears including extreme fear and hypothermia; tiny cubs left vulnerable; wounds suffered by the hounds attacking the bears; and property rights trampled by hounds who have no conception of posted land are just a few. Like many Vermonters I’ve spoken with about this issue, I believe this outdated and cruel practice needs to stop.

It was a welcome relief, then, to receive great news from the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge the very next day. On June 2, the Refuge released their 2023 Hunting and Fishing Plan and upheld their 2021 decision to shorten the bear hound training season from June 1 to August 1 to protect vulnerable ground-nesting birds in the area.

The plan noted, “Training dogs during the migratory bird breeding season, June and July, is not compatible with the purposes of the refuge. Even unintentional minor harassment or disturbance during critical biological times, in critical locations, especially when repeated over time (frequency and duration) exceeds the compatibility threshold… Migratory land birds are a trust resource, and based on our professional opinion and available science, dog training as a compatible use during the breeding season is not supported by science”.

This decision by the Conte National Wildlife Refuge to maintain the shortened hound training season is particularly important in light of the intense opposition this proposal received from proponents of hounding.

Groups like Safari Club International and the Sportsmen’s Alliance, as well as Vermont lobbyists representing hounders, provided comments in favor of a longer hound training season, placing recreational pursuits above the well-being of imperiled species. Sportsmen even went as far as filing a lawsuit against the Refuge, causing Refuge staff to take time away from vital conservation duties to fight frivolous litigation.

Disappointingly, Vermont’s own Fish & Wildlife Department gave their support for an earlier hound training season beginning in June despite the science that supports a later start date. But the Refuge stood by their science, which is not only good news for at-risk bird species, but bears as well. Over 1,500 individuals and organizations submitted comments to the refuge, many of them from wildlife advocates from across the state. As a former bird researcher and current bird watcher, it fills me with joy that the refuge firmly decided to prioritize the interests of at-risk bird species over the desires of recreational hounders.

There is even more hope for bears on the horizon. There is a bill in the Vermont House, H.323, introduced by Rep. Lawrence Satcowitz, D-Randolph, that seeks to prohibit the hunting of bears or coyotes with hounds. Black bears are terrorized by hounds for six long months between the start of hound training season and the end of bear hunting season, leaving them little peace from biting hounds. This crucial bill would put an end to this cruel recreational activity in Vermont, so please contact your legislators and encourage them to support H.323. By affirming our collective love and appreciation for wildlife in Vermont, we make the Green Mountain State a better place for bears and for all wildlife who call this amazing place home.

Bob Galvin is a former wildlife researcher and the current Vermont state director for the nonprofits Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy. He lives in Richmond, VT.

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