New York hunter charged with illegally using doughnuts as bait to attract bears

CNN
 — 

You attract more bees with honey – and more bears with doughnuts, apparently.

A New York hunter has been ticketed after he allegedly used doughnuts in an attempt to lure bears, according to a new release from New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

Police at the department hiked many miles for multiple days before they found several areas which seemed to be baited with doughnuts, the release explained. Hunting black bears is legal in select zones and seasons in New York, but hunters are not permitted to use any kind of bait to attract the bears.

Doughnuts had been placed in and around trees, including inside tree stumps, police alleged.

On October 2, officers discovered a man using a bow to hunt for bears in the doughnut-studded area. He also had a large package of doughnuts in his backpack, police say.

At first, the hunter claimed the doughnuts were for his own consumption and said he had dropped them, according to the release.

He was ticketed for hunting bear with bait, failing to display a backtag, which is a tag hunters need to legally kill a bear, injuring trees on state land, littering on state land, and failing to label his hunting stands with his name and address, among other offenses, the release outlined.