What is bear baiting?
Baiting involves luring a bear to a bait station with biodegradable materials such as vegetables, meats, pastries or sweets, honey, or other foods. After bears arrive at the bait station, a hunter can choose the size, hide quality, or reproductive state of a bear he/she wishes to harvest. Bait varies, but should be biodegradable material intended to lure, attract, or entice black bears to an area. Agricultural operations are not considered bait stations. Bait stations should be tended to frequently to refresh bait and keep bears interested. The intent of luring a bear to a bait site is to assess the animals size, sex, quality, whether it has cubs, and provide the opportunity to harvest the animal, if desired. Baiting is used for sport hunting, for research, and nuisance bear management. Researchers might use bait to lure a black bear to a hair snare, where hair samples can be collected when a bear walks under a wire and snags a few hairs. This hair can be used for genetic testing that
