Beginning this fall, big game hunters will be allowed to hunt Yellowstone Grizzly Bears, many of whom live around Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks
Related: Yellowstone Tourist Files Complaint Over Untrained Grizzly Bears
According to a press release from the National Parks Conservation Association, The Wyoming Fish and Game gathered and voted unanimously to potentially grant some 23 bear tags this upcoming autumn. The species of Grizzly Bears in question have held protected status for some 40 years.
Wyoming just voted to make this the last summer for 23 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, ignoring more than 37,000 public comments in opposition to this fall’s hunt. From @c_m_dangelo https://t.co/GblZ8HbS8P
— National Parks Conservation Association (@NPCA) May 24, 2018
The hunts come after the Yellowstone Grizzly was removed from the US Fish and Wildlife’s list of endangered species. Conservationists argue that the hunts were granted too early for a sustainable recovery to continue. Others argue that hunting will enhance the bears’ behavioral adaptations over time– eventually benefitting the species in the long-run. Pending a reversal of course in legal terms (6 groups are currently suing to reinstate the endagered status), the hunts will proceed this fall.