April 16, 2026 – A Legislative Victory for Black Bears in Tennessee
The passage of a new bill in the Tennessee State Legislature known as SB2597/HB2215 is a huge win for black bears and wildlife conservation. The bill, which will now take effect July 1st of 2026, makes feeding a black bear in Tennessee, intentionally or unintentionally, a class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of no less than $250. People may receive 1 written warning for unintentional feeding (think trash or bird seed) and after that they will have to pay a much heftier fine than in the past.
In finer print, the bill will allow/require local law enforcement agencies to partner with TWRA to establish and post areas that will be subject to the rules put forth in this bill. It does NOT automatically make it illegal to feed bears in all of Tennessee just by being passed and signed into law.
Here’s a link to the full bill:
Today, Naturalist Communications Specialist Jon D. B. and ABR Executive Director Greg Grieco got together to discuss this recently signed bill that will help reduce human-bear conflict in Tennessee. For more clarity on what this bill means at present, please watch the video below:
Moving forward, we strongly encourage and sincerely hope that everyone in Tennessee Bear Country will urge their local law enforcement agencies and municipalities to take advantage of this opportunity to make it illegal to feed bears in their cities, townships, and counties.
Unfortunately, it has been legal to feed black bears in the state of Tennessee (outside of our state and federal lands and the City of Gatlinburg) without any legal ramifications for too long. Our bears have long paid the price and many cubs have been brought to us over the years as a result of bears being able to freely access human food and trash.
This bill could finally give our local law enforcement agencies the “teeth and claws” they need to better protect our bears from negligent human behavior.
There’s still work to be done, but please don’t let that stop you from celebrating. Thank you to our representatives and to everyone who has written letters and voiced your opinion over the years advocating for laws like these. It worked!
Let’s keep that momentum going – together.