I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1472
To require the adoption and enforcement of regulations to prohibit the inten-
tional 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 pub-
lic lands in order to end the hunting practice known 
as ‘‘bear baiting’’ and reduce the number of dangerous 
interactions between people and bears.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Don’t Feed the Bears 
Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON FEEDING BEARS ON FEDERAL 
PUBLIC LANDS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Federal land management agencies, includ-
ing the Forest Service, National Park Service, 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau 
of Land Management, publish and distribute mate-
rials to the public discouraging any feeding of black 
bears. 
(2) Even though Federal land managers are in 
agreement that private citizens should not provide 
food to bears, several Federal land management 
agencies do not prohibit licensed hunters from set-
ting out food as bait for bears on Federal lands in 
States where baiting is permitted by State law. 
(3) A typical bait station consists of hundreds 
of pounds of human-scented foods, often including 
parts of animal carcasses, pastries, fruits, and 
grease, that are simply piled on the forest floor or 
dumped in large drums. 
(4) The foods used in a bait station are no dif-
ferent than the human-scented foods that a bear 
might find in a garbage can, dump, or campground, 
and after the bear hunting season ends, bait stations 
are often not removed.
(5) The presence of bait stations on Federal 
lands allows bears to increase their food intake and 
results in higher birth rates, increasing bear popu-
lations. 
(6) Wildlife scientists agree that black bears are 
naturally wary of people, but that feeding bears 
human-scented foods can cause bears to lose their 
wariness and become emboldened in approaching 
people and property in search of food. 
(7) Human-fed bears cause millions of dollars 
in property damage every year. 
(8) Bears habituated to human food can pose 
a safety threat, occasionally resulting in attacks on 
human beings. 
(9) Bears that come into conflict with people 
are often labeled as nuisance animals, and are often 
killed as a means of protecting people and property. 
(10) When the National Park Service adopted 
policies to ban bear feeding and to end the practice 
of keeping garbage in open-air dumps, units of the 
National Park System experienced a dramatic de-
cline in bear-human encounters. 
(11) A majority of the States that allow bear 
hunting ban baiting, and black bears can be hunted 
successfully by means other than baiting.
(12) It is inconsistent for Federal land manage-
ment agencies to demand that visitors to the Federal 
lands not feed bears, but to allow this practice by 
bear baiters. 
(13) The United States already prohibits bait-
ing of migratory birds. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT
OF EXISTING NPS REGULA-
TION.—The Secretary of the Interior shall enforce the reg-
ulatory prohibition, contained in section 2.2(a)(2) of title 
36, Code of Federal Regulations, against the feeding of 
wildlife on National Park System lands to prohibit individ-
uals from intentionally feeding bears for the purpose of 
enticing bears to a particular area to be hunted, a practice 
known as ‘‘bear baiting’’. 
(c) ENFORCEMENT
OF EXISTING FWS REGULA-
TION.—The Secretary of the Interior shall enforce the reg-
ulatory prohibition, contained in section 32.2(h) of title 
50, Code of Federal Regulations, against bear baiting and 
the baiting of other wildlife on wildlife refuge areas. 
(d) ADOPTION OF REGULATIONS FOR OTHER PUBLIC 
LANDS.—
(1) REGULATION REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 
the Interior, with respect to lands administered by 
the Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary 
of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest Sys-
tem lands, shall each adopt and enforce a regulation 
to prohibit individuals from intentionally feeding 
bears, including feeding for the purpose of enticing 
bears to a particular area to be hunted, a practice 
known as ‘‘bear baiting’’. 
(2) DEADLINE
FOR
ADOPTION.—The regula-
tions required by this subsection shall be issued in 
final form not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
(e) EXCEPTION
IN EXTRAORDINARY CASES.—The 
regulations referred to in subsections (b) and (c), and the 
regulations required by subsection (d), shall provide an ex-
ception in extraordinary cases when the Secretary con-
cerned determines that bear feeding is required for the 
welfare of the bear, preservation of public safety, or au-
thorized wildlife research.
Æ