MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Bear hunting season starts next month and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is reminding hunters about regulations that went into effect last year.
Hunters now are required to field dress the bear before taking it to a reporting station. Hunters also must return to the kill site if asked to by a game warden.
The early bear season starts on Sept. 1 and runs through Nov. 15. The season for nonresident hunters using dogs starts on Sept. 15. The late season runs Nov. 16 through Nov. 24.
A hunter may only take one bear yearly.
Vermont’s bear biologist says in the last 50 years, Vermont’s bear population has grown from 1,500 to about 5,000, while the human population has also increased, resulting in more encounters between people and bears.
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