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Nelson pointed out that state officials restricted the spring bear hunting season and passed laws that made it more difficult to hunt bears during the normal season. The result has been a steady increase in the population of bears, increasing the risks of similar negative human interactions with the animals.
One of those rules the state passed to make hunting bears more difficult was banning the use of dogs to pursue bears. Nelson noted that state officials are still able to use dogs to track bears involved in attacks, including the one over the weekend.
“All they’ve done with regard to hounds is privatize this,” Nelson said. “Before, you had hunters that loved their dogs. It’s amazingly difficult to hunt [bears] without the help of our four-footed friends.”
“So, now, we as taxpayers have to pay for this activity rather than have the hunter – who is buying tags and licenses – providing money for the state.”
Reached for comment by Fox News, a spokesperson for the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife stressed that such interactions “are rare in Washington state as black bears tend to avoid humans.”
The spokesperson added that some bears have become “human-habituated” or “human-food-conditioned” and can “become aggressive in their pursuit of a meal” in populated or semi-populated areas, something the agency has attempted to address by educating the population on coexisting with the animals.
