LETTER: The case against bear-baiting prioritizes ecological integrity, public safety
April 3, 2026To the Community:
As a conservation biologist who resides in South Starksboro, I was alarmed to learn that the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board is considering a petition to allow hunting bears with bait. If this were allowed, it would contradict the recommendations of Fish and Wildlife Department biologists. In addition, the significant scientific evidence against baiting is compelling, revealing detrimental effects on bears, ecosystems, and public safety.
Bear baiting disrupts natural diets and behaviors. Studies show that artificial food sources can constitute over 40% of a bear’s caloric intake in the fall, leading to dependency on human-provided food. The concentration of bears at bait sites not only enhances their physical condition and reproductive success (creating more bears on the landscape) but also escalates human-bear conflicts. Cubs raised around bait are less adept at foraging and more likely to encounter humans and become problem bears.
Moreover, bait sites attract various omnivorous species, such as foxes, raccoons and coyotes, creating unnatural animal concentrations. This situation heightens the risk of disease transmission, including sarcoptic mange, parasites, and bacterial infections. Additionally, bait piles can provoke violent territorial disputes among bears attracted to the same bait piles. The Fish and Wildlife Department’s advisories against feeding bears for these very reasons.
Beyond the direct impacts on bears, baiting also results in harmful effects on the surrounding forest ecosystems. Repeated bait sites create chronic disturbance patches, reduce tree seedling regeneration, increase soil disruption, and favor the spread of invasive plant species – impacts that extend well beyond the bait pile footprint and alter long-term stand dynamics.
Governance and ethics also play a crucial role. Historical policy failures, where political pressures overshadowed ecological science, underscore the need for decisions based on transparent, science-based principles. Most wildlife biologists advocate for prohibiting baiting, favoring better management of attractants, public education, and coexistence strategies.
Vermont’s commitment to ecological integrity, public safety, and ethical hunting is at stake. We must ask whether allowing bear baiting truly serves these values or undermines them. I urge the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board to critically assess the peer-reviewed evidence and adopt an ecosystem-based, conflict-reducing policy.
If you feel, like I do, that bear baiting should be prohibited in Vermont, please contact the Fish and Wildlife Board (members are listed by county on the board’s website) and your state representatives and let them know that this would be a terrible policy for Vermont.
Jennifer Lovett, MA, MS
Starksboro