Legislative History

Hunting of black bears was suspended by regulation in 1956 when the population had plummeted to only 12 bears as a result of bounties, bear hunting, and habitat destruction. Thanks to this regulatory ban on bear hunting and on habitat protection initiatives, the black bear population slowly improved; in the most recent scientific survey conducted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the bear population in Maryland is between 266 and 437.

In July 2000, following a push from hunting advocates to open a bear hunting season, then-Secretary of DNR Sarah Taylor-Rogers stated, “it is clear to me that most Marylanders do not support reopening a hunting season on Black Bears.” A new Black Bear Task Force was formed in December 2001 with the mandate to “review all aspects of Black Bear management in Maryland, solicit public opinion, and make recommendations regarding management of this important species.”

In the 2002 legislative session, despite the ongoing and incomplete efforts of the Black Bear Task Force, Delegate George C. Edwards (R-1A) introduced House Bill 10, to direct the DNR to open a sport hunting season on black bears. Delegate Edwards argued that anecdotal evidence of bear/human conflicts in his area were an indication that the bear population was out of control. The bill attracted a great deal of attention from around the state. HB10 was amended drastically in the House Environmental Matters Committee to create a permitting system to shoot bears, and passed both the committee and the full House. The bill was killed in the Senate Education Health and Environmental Affairs Committee.

During the 2003 legislative session, as the Black Bear Task Force was completing its work and it became clear that among its recommendations would be a sport hunting season on black bears, Delegate Barbara A. Frush (D-21) introduced House Bill 629. This bill would have established a six-year moratorium on bear hunting and required the DNR to perform a new, scientific survey of the bear population after five years. (The Black Bear Task Force recommendation for a bear hunt passed by one vote in the task force, despite public comments running five-to-one in opposition to a hunt.) House Bill 629 was defeated in the House Environmental Matters Committee after a spirited hearing and despite broad public support for protecting black bears in Maryland.

Sadly, Maryland reinstated its bear hunt in 2004. That year 20 bears were killed.

Hunts followed in 2005 and 2006 and the quotas for bear kills doubled. In 2005, Delegate Frush again introduced that would have prohibited the Department of Natural Resources from opening a hunting season for black bears, would have prohibited the DNR from reducing the black bear population until 2010 and would have required a bear population assessment in 2009. The bill died and 40 bears were killed. In 2006, another failed attempt was made to pass legislation. Unfortunately, 41 bears were killed.

During the 2007 legislative session, Delegate Frush again introduced legislation to protect Maryland's bears. House Bill 1368 would have made black bears a non-game species which could not be hunted. Unfortunately, Maryland's legislators failed to act and this legislation also died in committee.

The fate of Maryland's bears now rests in Governor Martin O'Malley's hands. Governor O'Malley was elected since the state's last bear hunt. Unless he takes action to cancel this year's trophy hunt, the bear hunt in scheduled to proceed.

To find out how your state legislators voted on legislation related to black bears, please see the latest Maryland Humane Scorecard, a joint publication of The Fund for Animals and The Humane Society of the United States.