Arizona wildlife officials are defending the state's bear kill policy after the public's emotional reaction to a bear being euthanized in Flagstaff.
The Arizona Daily Sun reports that Arizona Game and Fish Department captured and euthanized the bear Friday after it wandered into a Flagstaff neighborhood. On social media, people asked why the bear couldn't have been relocated and critiqued the department's wildlife policies.
The state's policy dates back to a 1996 incident near Tucson in which an adult male bear that was caught and released by wildlife officials returned to a campground and seriously mauled a teenage girl. It requires officials to "destroy" adult male black bears exhibiting unacceptable behavior.
Wildlife officials and researchers say such policies must take human liability and risk into account, not just science.
