Conservation groups are asking Wyoming Game and Fish to make hunters to carry bear spray in grizzly bear habitat a requirement. Between 2015 and 2017, 146 grizzlies were killed in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: the vast majority were encounters with hunters. Kristin Combs with Wyoming Wildlife Advocates says while grizzly populations have been slowly improving over the past 20 years, this kind of depletion is a concern. Since bear spray has been 98 percent effective at preventing human injuries during bear encounters when it is used properly, Combs believes a proposal to require hunters to carry bear spray is a logical solution.
Combs said, “People tend to be kind of bad shots when bears are charging them, in a high-adrenaline situation. If they have that bear spray on their person, that at least gives them a chance to have some sort of secondary method of protection for themselves and for the bears.”
Combs notes that Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks already require staff to carry bear spray when working in the field. Meanwhile, Wyoming OSHA encourages guides and other workers in grizzly country to carry and be trained in the use of bear spray as a matter of workplace safety. The Wyoming Fish and Game Department has 60 days to respond to the petition submitted by conservation groups.
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