Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wildlife Conflict Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Assembly committee advances contentious bill to allow expanded hazing tools and potential future CDFW authority on bear management
Summary
After a contentious hearing, the Assembly committee advanced AB 1038, a bill giving the Department of Fish and Wildlife wider authority to use aversive techniques — including trained-dog hazing — to move habituated bears and other large carnivores away from people and farms.
The Assembly committee forwarded AB 1038 after a long and emotional hearing that split conservation and animal-welfare organizations from hunting and rural groups.
Authored by Assemblymember Hardinwick, AB 1038 would authorize the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to use additional aversive-hazing tools — including trained dog packs deployed by licensed operators using GPS collars — to deter and displace bears and other large carnivores from populated areas and livestock operations, and to enable CDFW to establish when and where such methods may be used. The author said the measure is designed to be a middle ground between education-only approaches and lethal removal: “AB 1038 is not about harming animals. It is about preserving their natural behavior and ensuring public safety in a humane way,” the author said, citing a recent fatal bear mauling in Sierra County as an example of increasing predator-human conflict that local law enforcement confronts.
Sheriff Michael Fisher of Sierra County and other local officials told the committee they have faced repeated bear incursions into homes, schools and farms and that existing tools and staffing levels do not always allow timely removal of dangerous animals. “In 2023 we had the first documented human death from a black bear,” Sierra County Sheriff Fisher said, describing frequent calls for service and property damage problems.
Opponents — including Humane World for Animals, Bear League, Sierra Club, Mountain Lion Foundation and other conservation and animal-welfare organizations — argued the bill would reinstate or enable hounding practices that researchers and advocates say can injure wildlife and dogs, stress animals, and produce poor outcomes for cubs and dependent young. Witnesses also disputed some claims about population trends and said proven non-lethal measures such as electrified barriers, bear-proof refuse containers and community enforcement of attractant ordinances are effective.
Committee members debated evidence about population trends, public-safety thresholds, CDFW capacity and whether the measure’s language would permit a future hunting season or primarily provide an aversive-hazing authority for managers. Some members said they would support the bill as a tool for managers; others withheld support pending changes or additional input from wildlife scientists and tribes. The committee advanced AB 1038 to Appropriations with some members reserving the right to seek changes.
