SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – More than 100 bears have been put down in East Tennessee in the last five years, prompting new state legislation aimed at changing human behavior that wildlife experts say is quietly killing the animals.
Starting July 1, a new state law makes feeding black bears a criminal offense.
Senate Bill 2597, signed by Gov. Bill Lee, carries fines starting at $250 and covers both intentional feeding and leaving food or trash unsecured. The legislation also allows the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to enter into agreements with local law enforcement agencies to enforce bear feeding bans and other wildlife regulations related to public safety.
Law expands enforcement powers
The new law gives local police direct citation powers for the first time. Previously, local officers could only take incident reports and notify TWRA, which held sole citation authority.
“Previously, if the Gatlinburg Police Department come across anyone feeding a bear, we could go out, take an incident report, but then we had to notify TWRA, which had the citation powers to do that,” said Seth Butler, director of operations communications for the City of Gatlinburg. “This will allow us to cite those folks for any violation of state law.”
Currently, Gatlinburg is the only city in Tennessee with a bear feeding ban. The new legislation opens the door for more communities to establish similar prohibitions.
Birdseed called ‘gateway drug’ for conflict bears
Wildlife experts said the problem often starts with birdseed.
“I call birdseed the gateway drug for conflict bears, and a lot of bears lose their lives after breaking into houses after first getting birdseed,” said Greg Grieco, executive director of Appalachian Bear Rescue.
Grieco said birdseed is particularly problematic because it provides high caloric content and is often placed on porches near homes, encouraging bears to push boundaries and attempt break-ins.
The problem stretches beyond Gatlinburg into communities like Townsend and Wears Valley, where bears have been euthanized with no law in place to stop the behavior that led there.
“We shouldn’t have 20 to 25 bears a year being euthanized for conflict behavior, especially a lot of those bears are being euthanized outside of the areas where the law already exists,” Grieco said.
TWRA applauds legislation
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency released a statement applauding the General Assembly for the legislation.
“Feeding black bears contributes to human-bear conflicts by food conditioning and habituating, or making bears familiar, with human food sources and humans,” the agency stated. “This has been shown to change bear behavior and contribute to public safety risks, property damage, and is detrimental to the general welfare of bears.”
The agency said the legislation increases its ability to partner with local law enforcement agencies to enforce existing and future bear feeding bans and to consider additional feeding bans in coordination with local governments.
Penalties and enforcement
Knowingly feeding a black bear in a banned area is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of no less than $250, plus court costs and fees.
Unknowingly feeding a black bear by leaving food or garbage unsecured is also a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by a written warning for a first offense and a fine of no less than $250 for subsequent offenses.
Butler said enforcement will involve both witnessing violations and responding to calls, with an emphasis on education.
“It’s educational based as well,” Butler said. “We’re constantly as a city encouraging folks to follow the laws, do everything they can to make sure that not only they remain safe but our wildlife remains safe as well.”
Community response
Grieco said the real change has to come from the community.
“If we just love it enough to want to take a picture of it, but we don’t love it enough to do these things that help it persist and preserve and protect it for future generations, then we don’t really love our East Tennessee mountains and our animals here,” he said.
Visitors to the area expressed support for the new law.
“That’s really sad. Especially considering how we’re kind of moving into their territory a little bit, kind of expanding. There’s only so much room for them,” said Austin Rowe, a visitor from Kingsport.
Chandler and Haleigh Hamilton, visiting from South Carolina, said it’s sad that bears have to pay for people being irresponsible.
“We’re in their territory; this is where they live. I think it’s sad that they have to lose their life for being relocated because of people being irresponsible,” Haleigh said.
The Hamiltons said they believe feeding bears makes them more aggressive and accustomed to humans.
“I think for us, we want to be respectful of them, seeing them from a distance, let them have their space and do their own thing, you know, respect them,” Chandler said.
Next steps
Wildlife officials said the next step is getting more communities to establish feeding bans so the protections don’t stop at Gatlinburg’s city limits.
Local law enforcement agencies that enter into agreements with TWRA will be required to report enforcement actions to the agency, including all details related to citations and final dispositions.
The law takes effect July 1, 2026.
