Local Stories

California bill would allow hunters with trained dogs to chase bears in some areas

KUNR Public Radio | By Maria Palma

Published February 27, 2025 at 11:14 AM PST

A black bear wearing a tracking collar is seen standing on a pile of grey-orange rocks by the base of a pine tree. — Black bears are reestablishing themselves in northern Nevada, increasing the number of encounters between bears and people.

A bill in the California legislature would allow hunters to use trained dogs to pursue bears in certain parts of the state. Supporters say it’s a necessary tool for managing bear populations. But opponents, including those in Lake Tahoe, call it cruel and unnecessary.

Assembly Bill 1038 would reinstate the use of trained dogs to pursue bears without harming them, a practice that was banned over a decade ago. It was introduced by Assemblymember Heather Hadwick, whose district includes the Tahoe area.

Ann Bryant, executive director of the non-profit BEAR League at Tahoe, said the focus should be on changing human behavior, not chasing bears with dogs.

“We don't want to have to have this happen to our bears and forests, especially those of us who live in Tahoe and other wilderness areas. We don't want to have to think about these monsters and their dogs chasing our bears that we care so much about and we appreciate and we're grateful to share the forest with them. We don't want them to be mistreated and abused and harassed and killed in a barbaric way,” Bryant said.

There's far less bears than what the state is claiming, Bryant said.

But, Bill Gaines, whose government relations agency helped draft the bill, said it wouldn’t apply to areas like South Lake Tahoe because it wouldn’t be appropriate.

“We know what's going on in South Lake Tahoe, but this bill is not intended to pursue bears out of South Lake Tahoe, it's intended to keep other areas throughout California from becoming like South Lake Tahoe. Once a bear gets habituated to whether it be breaking into the cabinets or eating out of garbage cans or doing things that wild bears don't do, it's almost impossible to return them back to the wild,” Gaines said.

The bill would also authorize the Fish and Game Commission to establish a bear hunting season during which a person with a bear tag would be permitted to use dogs to pursue a bear in an area designated by the agency.

The bill’s supporters say it’s a targeted approach to managing rising bear populations in some regions and call it “by far the most effective method.”

In an email to KUNR, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said California’s black bear population is healthy and stable – if not growing. The statewide population is currently estimated between 51,000 and 80,000 animals.