{"id":11255,"date":"2017-04-11T15:10:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-11T23:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/maryland-lawmakers-vote-to-allow-beekeepers-to-shoot-black-bears-that-threaten-hives\/"},"modified":"2017-04-11T15:10:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-11T23:10:00","slug":"maryland-lawmakers-vote-to-allow-beekeepers-to-shoot-black-bears-that-threaten-hives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/maryland-lawmakers-vote-to-allow-beekeepers-to-shoot-black-bears-that-threaten-hives\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Lawmakers Vote To Allow Beekeepers To Shoot Black Bears That Threaten Hives"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Laurel Wamsley<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Honeybees are seen inside a colony at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., in 2007. Maryland lawmakers approved a bill this week permitting beekeepers to shoot black bears that threaten their hives.<\/p>\n

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Haraz N. Ghanbari\/ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n

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Haraz N. Ghanbari\/ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n

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It’s a clich\u00e9 that happens to be true: Bears love honey. And in Maryland, lawmakers have passed a bill making it legal to shoot a black bear if it threatens a beekeeper’s hive.<\/p>\n

In February, state Del. Mike McKay testified before the Environment and Transportation Committee on behalf of the bill. He wore a vest festooned with the image of Winnie the Pooh<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Del. Herb McMillan noted McKay’s attire didn’t seem to square with his arguments. “I know you came in here talking about Winnie the Pooh, but the gist of the bill is that you can shoot him,” McMillan said, according to The Baltimore Sun<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Existing Maryland law<\/a> requires a person to have a hunting license and a black bear hunting permit in order to hunt black bears in the state. Exempted is “a person who kills or wounds a black bear in defense of his\/her own life, the lives of other individuals, or the lives of animals on the individual’s property.”<\/p>\n

This week, Maryland’s General Assembly passed<\/a> McKay’s bill. So, if the measure is signed by the governor, as of June, the exemption on hunting bears will extend to the owners of honeybee colonies, if the owner has contacted the state’s Department of Natural Resources and installed an electric fence to protect the hive. The measure also provides funds to provide electric fences to beekeepers.<\/p>\n