Cornell bans bear butchering after students carved up creature in dorm kitchen
Cornell University Enacts New Policy Banning Wild Game Processing in Campus Kitchens
ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University has implemented a new policy prohibiting the preparation of wild game in campus kitchens, a direct response to a controversial incident that drew national attention last year.
The university's residential life department quietly added the rule to its community living standards for undergraduate students. The policy explicitly states that "processing wild/game animals in community kitchens is strictly prohibited."
The measure comes months after two students brought the carcass of a black bear they had killed into Cornell's Ganędagǫ Hall dormitory for butchering. The incident quickly went viral on social media, generating widespread backlash from both online commenters and members of the campus community.
One of the students involved, Aaron Chin, later identified himself on the MeatEater podcast several months after the incident. Chin explained that he and his hunting partner, another Cornell student, had originally intended to process the bear at a friend's residence off campus.
"We were really diligent in reading all the rules [and] regulations," Chin told the podcast in September. "We made sure we did everything by the book because we knew we were going to be under scrutiny."
According to Chin, a last-minute emergency at the friend's house left them without a location to prepare the animal. The hunting grounds where they had taken the bear were approximately two hours from campus.
The incident triggered an investigation by state regulators. However, a New York Department of Environmental Conservation inspector who examined the dormitory kitchen found no violations of environmental or wildlife codes.
University officials confirmed to The Cornell Sun that the new kitchen policy was implemented specifically because of the 2025 bear preparation incident.
The policy applies to all community kitchens in undergraduate residence halls across Cornell's Ithaca campus.
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