{"id":588186,"date":"2026-04-16T18:06:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T18:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/588186\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T18:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T18:06:25","slug":"new-tennessee-law-targets-risky-handouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/588186\/","title":{"rendered":"New Tennessee law targets risky handouts"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. \u2014 Feeding black bears in Tennessee is now against the law.<\/p>\n

Governor Bill Lee has signed a bill making it illegal to knowingly feed black bears, with new penalties aimed at protecting both people and wildlife.<\/p>\n

\"Wildlife<\/p>\n

Wildlife officials say feeding bears can cause them to lose their natural fear of humans, leading to more aggressive behavior and putting communities at risk. File photo: Getty Images.<\/p>\n

Under the law, people who feed bears could face fines and other penalties, as state leaders try to cut down on dangerous encounters.<\/p>\n

Wildlife officials say feeding bears can cause them to lose their natural fear of humans, leading to more aggressive behavior and putting communities at risk.<\/p>\n

\"Officials<\/p>\n

Officials say bears that become dependent on human food are more likely to approach homes, businesses and visitors. File photo: Getty Images.<\/p>\n

In East Tennessee, where bear sightings are common, the issue has been growing.<\/p>\n

In Gatlinburg, reports of people feeding bears have raised concerns about safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"{p}In<\/p>\n

In East Tennessee, where bear sightings are common, the issue has been growing. In Gatlinburg, reports of people feeding bears have raised concerns about safety, according to our ABC affiliate WATE-TV. File photo: Getty Images.<\/p>\n

Officials say bears that become dependent on human food are more likely to approach homes, businesses and visitors.<\/p>\n

The law is meant to discourage that behavior and reduce the number of bears that have to be relocated or euthanized.<\/p>\n

Comment with Bubbles<\/p>\n

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT<\/p>\n

Wildlife experts say the message is simple: Do not feed the bears.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASHVILLE, Tenn. \u2014 Feeding black bears in Tennessee is now against the law. Governor Bill Lee has signed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-588186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}