There's one surefire way to catch me in the wild, and that's by offering me snacks. BUT, nobody's hunting me... that I'm aware of.

Hunters in Michigan, specifically Bear Hunters, will soon have to chill on the amount of snacks they offer their kills because Michigan has just banned feeding Gummy Bears to bears while hunting. Yes... you read that correctly... hunters have been feeding gummy bears, to bears, to hunt them.

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Specifically, the state of Michigan will now be banning Melatonin Gummy Bears for hunters who use Bruin Baiting as a form of drawing bears into an area.

For those not familiar, Bruin Baiting is a form of "bait pile" that is more commonly used by people studying bears, and need to examine wild bears. They will typically create a "bait pile" in a barrel that contains something to make the bears fall asleep so they can examine, log, and tag the bears for their records.

Bruin Baiting/Unsplash
Bruin Baiting/Unsplash
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Hunters have apparently caught on to the trend, and those using Bruin Baiting have started putting Melatonin Gummy Bears in their bait piles to knock the bears out for an easy kill.

Cody Norton is a carnivore expert in Michigan and said while it's not a widespread issue yet, they wanted to get ahead of it.

"This is literally the first time we've ever heard of it being used or even talked about in the state."

Michigan DNR recently started receiving complaints that a "small number of bear hunters" are responsible.

Thankfully, it is just that, a VERY small amount of hunters seem to be practicing this method of hunting, but it doesn't stop other hunters, and wildlife experts from being upset about someone misusing a tactic.

Wikipedia
Wikipedia
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Mike Thorman of the Michigan Hunting Dog Federation told Newsbreak that he's absolutely on board with the State of Michigan proposing the law of banning the use of melatonin gummy bears in bait piles for hunting bears, calling anyone who used them a "low life."

"What kind of piss-poor hunter are you that you've gotta feed the bear something that's going to put it to sleep so you can catch it?"

Melatonin Gummy Bears are the latest addition to banned substances in bear bait piles in Michigan. Chocolate was banned in 2017 because of a chemical it contains called theobromine which is toxic to animals.

A 2021 survey in Michigan showed that 81 percent of harvested bears were taken over a bait pile, and in 2022, 1,903 bears were taken, which is a 2-percent increase from last year - a 12-percent increase over the past 10 years.

Hunting Seasons in Michigan

There are a TON of opportunities to hunt in Michigan, but many are only open for certain windows through the year. See which seasons are open and about when, as some exact dates will fluctuate from year to year.

Animals You Can Hunt All Year in Michigan