Outside of these state-sanctioned hunting practices, the first rule for killing a bear is pretty much the same as the first rule for killing a human: it can only be done in defense (though when it comes to killing a bear, defense of one’s dogs or chickens counts). And yet, I hear whispers that, behind this veneer of sensible rules, an ugly, clandestine bear killing has taken place. One man tells me, with palpable anger, that he found a wounded bear in his backyard out of season, its jaw shattered so badly by a bullet that it couldn’t eat. And so every time I pull my notebook from my pocket for
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