Credit: NPS Photo / Kevyn Jalone
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced it will move forward with its controversial predator control program targeting bears in Western Alaska—despite a recent court ruling declaring the effort unconstitutional.
On Friday, the department announced plans to resume its aerial bear culling efforts in Western Alaska starting Saturday, despite a March 14 ruling by Superior Court Judge Andrew Guidi that declared the program illegal, Alaska Beacon reported.
The state claims it is acting within the bounds of emergency regulations passed by the Alaska Board of Game on March 27, which the Department argues were not explicitly invalidated by the courts.
“The court order did not prohibit these activities or invalidate emergency regulations adopted by the Alaska Board of Game on March 27, 2025,” the department said in a statement, citing the Board’s authority to authorize the renewed bear removal program.
The goal, the department insists, is to increase caribou calf survival and grow the herd’s numbers to a level that “supports hunting opportunities for all Alaskans and nonresidents.”
At its peak, the Mulchatna Caribou Herd supported over 48 communities and supplied more than 4,700 caribou annually, according to the state.
However, Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin ruled Wednesday that the state remains bound by Judge Guidi’s earlier decision, which found that the Board of Game failed to justify the emergency nature of the predator control regulations. She also noted that the Board’s new rule failed to correct the original constitutional shortcomings.
Despite this, Rankin declined to issue a temporary restraining order sought by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, saying the request was moot under current legal circumstances. In response, the Alliance filed a fresh application Friday in an attempt to stop the resumed killing.
The Department reported that since the program began in 2023, at least 180 bears and 19 wolves have been killed during the spring and early summer—periods timed to target predators when caribou calves are most vulnerable.
A resident of Western Alaska told The Gateway Pundit that the killings have already resumed near Bethel, describing disturbing scenes of aircraft tracking and shooting bears from the sky.
“They have already begun using a spotter plane to find brown bears outside of the Bethel area of Western Alaska and follow-up helicopter with a gunner on board to kill them,” the source said.
“Last year over 120 bears were killed and most carcasses left to rot. It was horrible to see a giant stack of bear hides at auction during Fur Rendezvous in Anchorage from that slaughter.”
The reader also raised concerns about the ethics of the program and the motives of state officials.
“This is being done by the Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife and the trigger-happy Board of Game, who are ignoring sound science to ‘meat’ farm Caribou for their hunting pleasure. Years ago, this same department tried to machine gun wolves from a helicopter after baiting them in, but we were able to stop them with a tourism outcry. This time they’ve tried to hide the killing.”
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