USA: Judge halts grizzly bear hunt

Outside of Alaska, grizzly bears in the USA continue to be protected from hunting. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen of Montana ruled on Thursday to temporarily ban the first recreational hunt in more than 40 years in Idaho and Wyoming.

For conservation activists and Indigenous peoples, the preliminary injunction is a major victory. They had filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which in 2017 had lifted protections for the 700 grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park.

Conservationists and Indigenous peoples secure victory

The plaintiffs argued in court that grizzlies were still fighting for survival. From the agency's perspective, however, the population had recovered and was growing. “Because once an individual of an endangered species has been harmed, protecting that species becomes all the more difficult,” Christensen explained.

The animal welfare advocates further argued that grizzly death rates had been high in recent years. Their natural food sources were declining due to climate change.

The recreational hunt had been scheduled to begin that weekend. The licence would have allowed the shooting of 23 bears for recreational purposes in the two states. It would have been the first grizzly hunt in 40 years in the Yellowstone region.

Early 20th century: grizzlies nearly wiped out

Tens of thousands of grizzlies once lived in the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Hobby hunters killed most of them during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the Yellowstone region, the number of animals had dropped to 136 when they were listed as an endangered species in 1975. This does not apply to Alaska, where approximately 30’000 grizzlies live. More on wildlife and biodiversity.