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AB 1038

Bears: hunting: use of dogs.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Heather Hadwick

AB 1038 would allow regulated use of dogs to pursue black bears under future seasons, aiming to increase harvest and reduce human-bear conflict.

In committee: Set, first hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted.
#bears #hunting #useofdogs
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Bill Summary · AB 1038

AB 1038 (Hadwick) — Bears: hunting: use of dogs

Status: Introduced Feb 20, 2025. Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee — set for first hearing 4/25/25 (failed passage; reconsideration granted). Referred back to committee with author’s amendments 4/22/25. Fiscal committee review: yes. No appropriation.

Purpose / Intent

AB 1038 would restore and authorize regulated use of dogs in the pursuit of black bears under state hunting rules. The bill’s stated intent is to provide an additional, historically used tool for managing an allegedly expanded black bear population, reduce human–bear conflict, and bring bear numbers into balance with ecosystems and public safety concerns.

Key provisions

  • Adds Section 3960.7 to the Fish and Game Code (text truncated in available document).
  • Requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish seasons during which a person may allow dogs to pursue a bear subject to conditions, including that the person must not injure or kill the bear (or allow it to be injured or killed) while engaging in the activity.
  • Once the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) finalizes its update to the 1998 Bear Management Plan, authorizes the Commission to establish a bear hunting season in which a person holding a bear tag may allow dogs to pursue a bear in any area the Commission determines.
  • Retains the Fish and Game Commission’s authority to set open/closed seasons and establish regulatory details.

Legislative findings (selected)

The bill includes numerous findings asserting:
- California’s black bear population has grown substantially; the DFW draft update estimates 60,000–80,000 black bears statewide.
- Increased human–bear encounters and a first confirmed bear-caused human fatality in 2024.
- Historical reliance on dog-assisted pursuit for taking bears; SB 1221 (2012) prohibited use of dogs beginning in 2013 and, per the bill, reduced hunter harvests.
- In 2024 over 30,000 bear tags were sold; the state currently caps annual hunter harvest at 1,700 bears (set previously), but recent annual harvests have been much lower (the draft cites approximately 808–972 bears harvested in 2024).
- DFW’s draft estimates maximum sustainable hunter harvest near 16% of the population but contemporary harvest is under 3%.
- Ecological impacts claimed from high bear density (e.g., displacement of mountain lions, impacts on deer fawn survival).

Who would be affected

  • Hunters and houndsmen: potential renewed ability to use dogs for bear pursuit under regulated seasons and tag authority.
  • Department of Fish and Wildlife and Fish and Game Commission: required to act on seasons and implement regulations after the updated Bear Management Plan is finalized.
  • Wildlife and ecosystems: bears, mountain lions, deer, and other species potentially affected by changes in harvest method and harvest levels.
  • Rural, suburban and urban residents: public safety and human–bear conflict considerations.
  • Animal welfare and conservation stakeholders: would likely be affected by policy and enforcement changes.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced Feb 20, 2025; referred to Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife (W.P. & W.). Committee hearing on 4/25/25 failed passage with reconsideration granted; author amended bill and re-referred to the committee on 4/22/25.
  • The bill conditions some authority on DFW finalizing its updated Bear Management Plan (the department’s update to the 1998 plan was described as imminent in the bill’s findings).

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Supporters argue dog-assisted pursuit can increase harvest efficiency, reduce human–bear conflicts, and restore population balance.
  • Opponents may raise animal welfare, public safety, enforcement complexity, and ethical concerns about dog-assisted hunting, as well as procedural concerns over how seasons and geographic areas would be authorized.
  • The bill delegates significant implementation detail to the Commission and ties action to DFW’s updated management plan; the final regulatory framework and quantitative effects would depend on those follow-on actions.

Note: The provided bill text is partially truncated; full statutory language (Section 3960.7) and implementing regulatory details were not available in the excerpt.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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