Alaska predator control deemed unconstitutional

An Anchorage Superior Court judge recently ruled that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s program to kill nearly 200 brown and black bears to boost a caribou herd was unconstitutional. The agency originally developed the program to kill wolves (Canis lupus) and increase their prey species. The department expanded the program in 2022 to include brown bears (Ursus arctos), which prey on the Mulchatna caribou (Rangifer tarandus) herd, which has been struggling and sits at about 13,000 individuals. Judge Andrew Guidi’s recent ruling, citing a lack of due process and adequate public notice of the program, means, at least temporarily, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game must end the brown bear control program.

Read more in the Alaska Beacon.