{"id":713539,"date":"2026-06-03T23:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/713539\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T23:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:10:13","slug":"cody-johnson-fires-back-at-critics-calls-alaska-grizzly-bear-hunt-a-conservationist-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/713539\/","title":{"rendered":"Cody Johnson fires back at critics, calls Alaska grizzly bear hunt a ‘conservationist effort’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Proposal to ban hunting, fishing in Oregon met with backlash<\/a> <\/p>\n

A controversial Oregon initiative seeking to ban hunting and fishing advances, drawing criticism from Democratic State Senator Anthony Broadman who highlights economic harm and conservation concerns. The proposal, part of a new animal cruelty law, has surpassed 120,000 signatures.<\/p>\n

Cody Johnson is pushing back after catching heat online for a recent grizzly bear hunt in Alaska<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The country music star appeared on “American Country Countdown” with Ryan Fox last week, where he addressed criticism that poured in after he shared photos from a 10-day hunting<\/a> trip in the Alaskan wilderness.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICK<\/a><\/p>\n

“I caught so much flak for shooting this bear,” Johnson said. “Whereas people in Alaska, they praised it, because when you don\u2019t control a predator population like a grizzly bear, it can get out of control really fast.”<\/p>\n

\"Cody <\/p>\n

Cody Johnson performs onstage during the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 17, 2026. (John Shearer\/Getty Images for ACM)<\/p>\n

Johnson’s hunt was, of course, entirely legal and conducted during one of Alaska’s regulated brown bear seasons. The singer said wildlife officials in Alaska explained to him the impact grizzly bears can have on moose and caribou populations.<\/p>\n

“A statistic is that a male grizzly bear eats between<\/a> 120 and 150 calves a year \u2014 being moose or caribou \u2014 so the moose and caribou populations are suffering, and they\u2019re having to really regulate hunting on them.”<\/p>\n

The comments came after Johnson shared photos from what he called the “trip of a lifetime,” drawing thousands of reactions from fans. While many congratulated the ACM Entertainer of the Year winner, others criticized the hunt and questioned the ethics of killing a grizzly bear.<\/p>\n

The debate surrounding grizzly hunting tends to extend beyond simple questions of legality. Alaska allows tightly regulated brown bear hunts and issues a limited number of permits each year. Supporters argue that hunting helps fund conservation efforts<\/a> through license and tag fees while also serving as a wildlife management tool in areas where predator populations can impact other species.<\/p>\n

TWO HIKERS CAPTURE TERRIFYING VIDEO OF CHARGING GRIZZLY BEARS AT GLACIER NATIONAL PARK<\/a><\/p>\n

Critics, however, often contend that grizzly bears occupy a unique place among North America’s wildlife. Some oppose hunting apex predators on ethical grounds, regardless of whether populations are considered healthy and sustainably managed.<\/p>\n

\"Grizzly <\/p>\n

A grizzly bear stands in the wild, captured in its natural habitat. (Jillian Cooper \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Johnson made it clear where he stands.<\/p>\n

“In a lot of ways, in every way, this was not only a meat-harvesting hunt; it was a conservationist effort tag. So I\u2019m really proud of it.”<\/p>\n

It’s worth noting that the bear wasn’t killed simply for a trophy or photo opportunity. While bear meat may not be as common as venison or elk on most Americans’ dinner tables, hunters regularly harvest and consume brown bears, especially in Alaska.<\/p>\n

Of course, this isn’t the first time Johnson’s hunting adventures have generated controversy.<\/p>\n

Last year, the singer found himself at the center of the high-fence hunting debate after harvesting a world-record Transcaspian urial ram<\/a> at Texas’ Covered S Ranch.<\/p>\n

Critics argued that record-book animals should only count when taken under free-range conditions, while supporters noted that the hunt complied with Safari Club International’s standards and was conducted legally on private land.<\/p>\n

\"Country <\/p>\n

Country artist Cody Johnson performs on the main stage at CMA Fest 2025 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on June 6, 2025. (Taylor Hill\/FilmMagic\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Now, CoJo is forced to defend himself once again.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

“You\u2019re never going to please everybody,” he said. “But I just think that it\u2019s awful ironic that people would say, ‘How dare you kill this poor bear, but do you want to go eat at Chick-fil-A?'”<\/p>\n

The man has a point.<\/p>\n

Amber Harding is a writer for OutKick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Proposal to ban hunting, fishing in Oregon met with backlash A controversial Oregon initiative seeking to ban hunting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[16016,64,63,4991,4633,304722,128,51961,338],"class_list":["post-713539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-alaska","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-country","tag-hunting","tag-outkick-culture","tag-science","tag-wild-nature","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}