Judge Bars Sport Hunting of Grizzlies in Montana

A federal judge Friday temporarily barred the government from allowing sport hunting of grizzly bears in northwestern Montana.

U.S. District Judge Michael Boudin’s ruling came days before Tuesday’s scheduled start of the fall hunting season for the bears, which are designated a threatened species.

Ruling in a case brought by the Fund for Animals, Boudin said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had not shown that there is a surplus of grizzlies in the area to justify hunting the animals under the Endangered Species Act.

“Congress has specifically limited the hunting of a threatened or endangered species to extraordinary cases of population pressures,” Boudin said, adding that he was required to enforce that restriction.

The ruling was a preliminary one that Boudin said will remain in effect until he issues a final decision in the case.

Of 618 animal species designated as endangered or threatened, the grizzly bear is the only one the government allows to be hunted for sport, he said.

Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Pat Fisher said officials at the agency could not comment until they had read the decision.

The agency has allowed limited hunting of the grizzly bear in a 9,600-square-mile area of northwestern Montana since 1975, when the bear was designated a threatened species.

Under current rules, up to 14 bears or six females may be killed each year for any reason, including self-defense and hunting.

The federal agency had argued that the annual fall hunting season was part of the strategy to preserve the grizzly population by minimizing the bears’ contact with humans.

The government estimates that there are about 1,000 grizzlies in the 48 contiguous states, including about 400 to 600 in northwestern Montana.