Better not feed any bears in Colorado. Of course, you shouldn’t feed them anywhere. But, in Colorado, the penalty for feeding Yogi or Boo Boo just got stiffer.
On Wednesday, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 26-1342, strengthening penalties to those found knowingly feeding bears.
HB26-1342 amended Colorado Revised Statutes Section 33-6-131. It removed the requirement to prove that an individual “intentionally” lured bears through mismanagement of food or edible waste and reduced the burden of proof to “knowingly.”
The bill also removed a previous requirement that first-time offenders receive a warning, enhancing enforceability. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), along with all peace officers, now have the discretion to either provide a warning or to immediately issue a violation to individuals whose knowing actions have caused some form of human-bear interaction or conflict.
“It is not always what is in the picnic basket that lures a bear,” the Governor said. “It can also be the common food waste we dispose of. Reducing human-animal conflicts starts by doing our part to properly store our trash, and lock away food waste so we can safely share our communities with our furry friends coming out of hibernation.”
“Human-bear conflicts continue to be a major safety issue for both the public and our wildlife,” said CPW Director Laura Clellan.
“This bill strengthens our ability to address these conflicts by updating the culpable mental state tied to this offense and increasing enforcement measures for individuals who knowingly leave out attractants and trash, ultimately helping us keep both communities and bears safe.”
Under current law, a person who knowingly places food or edible waste in the open in circumstances where there is a reasonable probability of luring a wild bear to the food or edible waste commits a misdemeanor offense.
HB26-1342 raised the penalty for third or subsequent offenses of luring bears from $2,000 to $5,000.
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Thank you for the news, RV Travel. I pity the poor bears who are destroyed because some are careless. Have a great day and safe travels!
We camp hosted at a Colorado State apark last summer and had an awful time getting people to properly stow food and trash. We had a bear come every night and raid someone’s campsite. The ranger finally was able to shoot it with a stun gun and he decided it wasn’t worth the pain.
Glad they weren’t forced to kill the bear. People can be so ignorant.
Those penalties should be on the first offense! This is the problem with this sort of behavior! Until people experience some financial pain or jail time feeding bears to petting Bison this behavior will continue.