Talk:Bear spray

Effectiveness

The article states that bear spray has been demonstrated to be effective yet there is no research cited.Dale Matson (talk) 22:50, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

History

The current article states that Mark Matheny, founder of UDAP, claims to have developed the first bear spray in 1992. However, according to Counter Assault's webpage, "In the early 1980s, Dr. Charles Jonkel and Carrie Hunt of the University of Montana Border Grizzly Project generated the scientific data that proved Counter Assault’s proprietary formula and delivery system successfully deterred bears from aggressive encounters in a non-lethal manner," This would imply that Counter Assault began development prior to Matheny's claim. The history should be looked in to. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.166.89.169 (talk) 21:58, 19 June 2018 (UTC)

Changing Article Contents

The article as it stands has factual misrepresentations that co-mingles pepper spray with bear spray and misinformation (especially in regards to the research and development of bear spray). Our reviews and edits is based off of our experience monitoring bear sprays from 1985 to present. It includes our review of bear spray educational material for U.S. state, federal, and Canadian provincial wildlife agencies, our personal visit with the EPA in Washington, D.C. at the request of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Recovery Committee, our review of information with bear management specialists in Northwestern United States and Western Canada. We plan to make a series of verifiable, sourced edits over the next few days to correct these issues with the article. This is an effort to stop the reproduction of misinformation repeatedly spread about bear spray, what it is, and what to expect when deploying bear spray on a charging bear. We would appreciate if an extra bit of time is given to source information and if reversions can be discussed on the Talk page first. Thank you, Be Bear Aware Campaign. — Preceding unsigned comment added by BearFolks (talk • contribs) 19:51, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

I have reverted some and moved some around. Wikpedia is not a how to manual. We don't give step by step instructions on how to use a product. The legality issues do not belong in the lead. ~ GB fan 23:16, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

To add to article

To add to this article: the actual ingredients in this product. Are the capsaicin and capsaicinoids made from chile peppers or synthetic? And what are the other 98% of the ingredients? If that basic information isn't included, this article cannot be considered to be anything like encyclopedic. 173.88.246.138 (talk) 19:21, 12 February 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program course assignment

This article is the subject of an educational assignment at Montana State University supported by the Wikipedia Ambassador Program during the 2012 Spring term.

The above message was substituted from {{WAP assignment}} by PrimeBOT (talk) on 16:53, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

Bear Spray Effectiveness

An article discusses some of the problems with the previous study on the effectiveness of bear spray, particularly noting that most of the data was for curious and non-aggressive bear encounters, while the very few aggressive encounters that were included (when taken alone) paints a very different conclusion. — al-Shimoni (talk) 22:02, 10 September 2023 (UTC)

That article you linked is devastating to many of the claims made herein. Ironically, it even muses about how such misinformation is harmful to public safety:

"Yet in public opinion, media reports, and public-safety messaging, we have an overwhelming impression that bear spray is the one-stop solution to safely recreating in bear country. Dave Smith calls this, 'propaganda' and says he fears that it leads to misinformation and misunderstanding about what it takes to stay safe around bears." Cyanoplex (talk) 21:06, 28 October 2025 (UTC)

Reference does not support claim

Reference 17 does not support the claim that "A subsequent report on April 27th revealed that this was incorrect.". A link from the article in reference 17, however, does support the claim, but it was issued 2022-09-01 and can be found at: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/new-jersey-man-pleads-guilty-assaulting-officers-dangerous-weapon-during-jan-6-capitol. Cyanoplex (talk) 20:52, 28 October 2025 (UTC)

Contradiction

In the pepper spray article, it simply says that pepper spray is legal. It does not say that certain states like new york require it to be bought at certified stores. It just says it is legal. Robloxguest3 (talk) 23:44, 3 July 2026 (UTC)