02/20/2026
Help Stop Bear Killing Bill in Connecticut!!!
There will be a public hearing THIS FRIDAY at the State Capitol in Hartford on a fast moving yet dangerous bill called Senate Bill 146, "An Act Concerning the Protection of Livestock from Certain Wildlife." This bill, while looking harmless on its face, contains loopholes that would open up Connecticut for the unjustified killing of bears and orphaning of cubs. For this reason, the bill has been dubbed the "Bear Killing Spree bill" by wildlife advocates.
The bill would ridiculously allow for people to kill bears who "caused damage to crops, livestock or aviaries the preceding growing season..." which begs the questions:
1) How would livestock owners identify a bear seen this year as the same one from last year, since bears tend to look alike?
2) Just because a bear is seen doesn't automatically mean she will cause "damage."
3) Anyone can claim a "damage" excuse to kill bears: the amount of damage doesn't have to be substantiated or any threshold reached.
4) This bill removes the requirement that farmers must try nonlethal methods before resorting to killing bears. By allowing automatic bear killing, this bill provides a disincentive for people to even try proven non-lethal measures to protect livestock.
If you do not want SB 146 to pass, please step up and act now. Every voice makes a difference! What you can do:
Submit your opinion to the Legislature's Environment Committee before this Friday by going to this link:
https://cga.ct.gov/2026/envdata/pha/pdf/2026PHA00220-R001100ENV-PHA.PDF
You can sign up to testify by Zoom or in person. You will be given 3 minutes to express your reasons for opposing it. Or you can just submit written testimony. Choose the option you wish at the top of the page, right before "Bills for Review:"
If you sign up to testify in person or by Zoom, the order of speakers will be published Thursday night after 6pm so you can get a sense of when your turn is.
To read the bill: See link below, note the new language being voted on is in blue and removals to existing law is in [brackets].
https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=SB00146&which_year=2026
Some talking points:
Allowing bears to be randomly killed by people claiming bears damaged their crops or apiaries last year is not justified. Livestock owners can and should be helped with encouragement and subsidies for proven bear deterrents like electric wiring fences, bear "unwelcome mats" and other effective strategies which other states successfully use in their bear coexistence programs.
Resolving bear problems means reducing food attractants – ie fixing the human behavior that causes the problem. Yet by allowing killing as a first resort, this bill provides a disincentive for trying non-lethal bear deterrent strategies.
Communities all over the country are helping farmers and others resolve bear issues using non-lethal strategies and there's no reason CT's DEEP can't provide the same kind of technical, financial, and public education assistance as other wildlife agencies provide.
Bear cubs will be inevitably orphaned by this bill after their mothers are unjustifiably killed (DEEP's written Black Bear Response Guidelines state that orphaned cubs under 6 months or 60 pounds are to be euthanized).
There is no rehabilitation center in CT allowed to take in cubs.
Connecticut should not be opened up for sport hunting under the guise of protecting livestock. DEEP needs to do more to help farmers, beekeepers and chicken owners with real, long-lasting solutions as outlined in Bearwise.com and Bearsmart.com.
See www.ctbears.org (CWRA is a coalition member) www.bearsmart.com and www.bearwise.org for more information
Thank you for your timely assistance to prevent bear killing in Connecticut!
Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitators Association Inc
PO Box 3643
Woodbridge, CT 06525
