I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1472

To require the adoption and enforcement of regulations to prohibit the intentional feeding of bears on Federal public lands in order to end the 

hunting practice known as ‘‘bear baiting’’ and reduce the number of 

dangerous interactions between people and bears. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 27, 2003

Mr. GALLEGLY (for himself and Mr. MORAN of Virginia) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To require the adoption and enforcement of regulations to 

prohibit the intentional feeding of bears on Federal public lands in order to end the hunting practice known 

as ‘‘bear baiting’’ and reduce the number of dangerous 

interactions between people and bears.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Don’t Feed the Bears 

5 Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON FEEDING BEARS ON FEDERAL 

2 PUBLIC LANDS. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

4 (1) Federal land management agencies, includ5 ing the Forest Service, National Park Service, 

6 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau 

7 of Land Management, publish and distribute mate8 rials to the public discouraging any feeding of black 

9 bears. 

10 (2) Even though Federal land managers are in 

11 agreement that private citizens should not provide 

12 food to bears, several Federal land management 

13 agencies do not prohibit licensed hunters from set14 ting out food as bait for bears on Federal lands in 

15 States where baiting is permitted by State law. 

16 (3) A typical bait station consists of hundreds 

17 of pounds of human-scented foods, often including 

18 parts of animal carcasses, pastries, fruits, and 

19 grease, that are simply piled on the forest floor or 

20 dumped in large drums. 

21 (4) The foods used in a bait station are no dif22 ferent than the human-scented foods that a bear 

23 might find in a garbage can, dump, or campground, 

24 and after the bear hunting season ends, bait stations 

25 are often not removed. 
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1 (5) The presence of bait stations on Federal 

2 lands allows bears to increase their food intake and 

3 results in higher birth rates, increasing bear popu4 lations. 

5 (6) Wildlife scientists agree that black bears are 

6 naturally wary of people, but that feeding bears 

7 human-scented foods can cause bears to lose their 

8 wariness and become emboldened in approaching 

9 people and property in search of food. 

10 (7) Human-fed bears cause millions of dollars 

11 in property damage every year. 

12 (8) Bears habituated to human food can pose 

13 a safety threat, occasionally resulting in attacks on 

14 human beings. 

15 (9) Bears that come into conflict with people 

16 are often labeled as nuisance animals, and are often 

17 killed as a means of protecting people and property. 

18 (10) When the National Park Service adopted 

19 policies to ban bear feeding and to end the practice 

20 of keeping garbage in open-air dumps, units of the 

21 National Park System experienced a dramatic de22 cline in bear-human encounters. 

23 (11) A majority of the States that allow bear 

24 hunting ban baiting, and black bears can be hunted 

25 successfully by means other than baiting. 
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1 (12) It is inconsistent for Federal land manage2 ment agencies to demand that visitors to the Federal 

3 lands not feed bears, but to allow this practice by 

4 bear baiters. 

5 (13) The United States already prohibits bait6 ing of migratory birds. 

7 (b) ENFORCEMENT OF EXISTING NPS REGULA8 TION.—The Secretary of the Interior shall enforce the reg9 ulatory prohibition, contained in section 2.2(a)(2) of title 

10 36, Code of Federal Regulations, against the feeding of 

11 wildlife on National Park System lands to prohibit individ12 uals from intentionally feeding bears for the purpose of 

13 enticing bears to a particular area to be hunted, a practice 

14 known as ‘‘bear baiting’’. 

15 (c) ENFORCEMENT OF EXISTING FWS REGULA16 TION.—The Secretary of the Interior shall enforce the reg17 ulatory prohibition, contained in section 32.2(h) of title 

18 50, Code of Federal Regulations, against bear baiting and 

19 the baiting of other wildlife on wildlife refuge areas. 

20 (d) ADOPTION OF REGULATIONS FOR OTHER PUBLIC

21 LANDS.—

22 (1) REGULATION REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

23 the Interior, with respect to lands administered by 

24 the Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary 

25 of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest Sys-
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1 tem lands, shall each adopt and enforce a regulation 

2 to prohibit individuals from intentionally feeding 

3 bears, including feeding for the purpose of enticing 

4 bears to a particular area to be hunted, a practice 

5 known as ‘‘bear baiting’’. 

6 (2) DEADLINE FOR ADOPTION.—The regula7 tions required by this subsection shall be issued in 

8 final form not later than one year after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act. 

10 (e) EXCEPTION IN EXTRAORDINARY CASES.—The 

11 regulations referred to in subsections (b) and (c), and the 

12 regulations required by subsection (d), shall provide an ex13 ception in extraordinary cases when the Secretary con14 cerned determines that bear feeding is required for the 

15 welfare of the bear, preservation of public safety, or au16 thorized wildlife research.

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