Cornell University Implements New Wild Game Processing Ban in Response to Bear Incident

Cornell University has introduced a regulation that prohibits the processing of wild game in school kitchens. This rule follows an incident where two students carved a bear in a dormitory kitchen, which gained significant attention.

Processing wild/game animals in community kitchens is strictly prohibited, the new policy states.

The university confirmed that this policy change is a direct reaction to an incident from 2025. During this event, two students brought a black bear carcass into Cornell’s Ganędagǫ Hall for preparation. Aaron Chin, a Cornell student involved in the incident, spoke about it publicly on a podcast months later.

Cornell’s decision to ban the processing of wild game followed the incident with the bear carcass in the campus dorm kitchen. Chin explained that he and his partner initially planned to take the bear to a friend’s house for preparation. However, an emergency prevented them from using the location, leading them to bring the bear on campus.

Chin stressed that they took care to follow campus regulations before bringing the bear meat onto university grounds. Speaking on the MeatEater podcast, he stated, “We made sure we did everything by the book because we knew we were going to be under scrutiny.”

The bear carcass incident led to widespread backlash both on social media and within the campus, drawing scrutiny from state regulators. However, after an inspection by New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation, officials found no violations of environmental codes in the kitchen where the carving occurred, as noted in an NBC report.

Fox News Digital reached out to Cornell and Aaron Chin for additional comments regarding this new policy.