One police department has formally requested that people do not get drunk and chasing bears.

The North Adams Police Department in Massachusetts has asked the public of the town to, please, refrain from chasing the bears.

A statement on the department’s Facebook page read: "The North Adams Police Department is urging everyone to not chase bears through the woods with a dull hatchet, drunk. Yes that really did happen tonight.

“It is just a bad idea and not going to end well.

“It will, however, certainly end you up in jail.”

North Adams police Sergeant James Burdick told the Boston Globe: “I’ve been on this job for 33 years and I’ve dealt with a lot of bears, but I have never had anyone chase one into the woods with a hatchet before.”

Reuters reports that the post was genuine and a spokesperson for the department told them officer responded to a call in which they found a drunk man who had been attempting to drive bears away from his home using a blunt-edged axe.

"We understand there are bears in the area," the police spokesperson said.

"If you see a bear, leave it alone."

The police department told the Boston Globe that the officers posted the Facebook post as a light-hearted way of dealing with the incident.