NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — The commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) wants a limited bear hunt in the state and said Gov. Ned Lamont does, too. 

Appearing on This Week in Connecticut with Dennis House, DEEP commissioner Katie Dykes said, “We are in support of a limited bear hunt that would enable bear hunting to occur in those zones, in those locations in the state where we’re seeing concerningly high levels of conflicts. We think that we need it’s time. We need to have authorization of a hunt in order to help keep our human populations and our bear populations ultimately safe or to re-instill that fear of humans.”

Dennis also spoke with West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick about the increase in bear sightings in many cities and towns, including his.

“We actually last year we had about 405 calls for service while,” Riddick said. “Year to date, January through today, we are up 34%.”

Watch the video above.