Waumbek
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New Hampshire man fined in bear shooting
The Associated Press
In what the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says could be a precedent-setting case, the state has won a conviction against a man for shooting a black bear raiding a bird feeder in his back yard. Fish and Game Lt. Doug Gralenski said last week that Jocelyn Labonville of Shelburne, N.H., had complained twice to conservation officers that a black bear was raiding his bird feeders and he was concerned for his grandchildren's safety. Gralenski said Labonville was told to stop feeding birds and the bear problem would go away, but he shot and killed the bear while it fed at his bird feeder June 14. "Birdseed is not birdseed to a bear, it's bear seed," Gralenski said. "The case boils down to this: If you insist on feeding birds or purposely create a situation that attracts bears, you can't just kill that bear."
Labonville was convicted Tuesday in Gorham District Court of taking wildlife during a closed season. He was fined $240 and will lose his hunting license for one year. Several states, including Vermont, have laws prohibiting direct and indirect feeding of black bears. New Hampshire's Fish and Game Department is researching such legislation but has not formally proposed rules regarding the feeding of black bears, Gralenski said. Laws regarding protection of property from animal damage give New Hampshire homeowners the right to dispatch bears "causing substantial property damage." But "a bear being shot as it raids a backyard bird feeder does not meet the intent of the property damage law," Gralenski said. The case, Gralenski said, is the first in New Hampshire to address that issue, and likely will set a precedent regarding what constitutes wildlife damage.
The Associated Press
In what the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says could be a precedent-setting case, the state has won a conviction against a man for shooting a black bear raiding a bird feeder in his back yard. Fish and Game Lt. Doug Gralenski said last week that Jocelyn Labonville of Shelburne, N.H., had complained twice to conservation officers that a black bear was raiding his bird feeders and he was concerned for his grandchildren's safety. Gralenski said Labonville was told to stop feeding birds and the bear problem would go away, but he shot and killed the bear while it fed at his bird feeder June 14. "Birdseed is not birdseed to a bear, it's bear seed," Gralenski said. "The case boils down to this: If you insist on feeding birds or purposely create a situation that attracts bears, you can't just kill that bear."
Labonville was convicted Tuesday in Gorham District Court of taking wildlife during a closed season. He was fined $240 and will lose his hunting license for one year. Several states, including Vermont, have laws prohibiting direct and indirect feeding of black bears. New Hampshire's Fish and Game Department is researching such legislation but has not formally proposed rules regarding the feeding of black bears, Gralenski said. Laws regarding protection of property from animal damage give New Hampshire homeowners the right to dispatch bears "causing substantial property damage." But "a bear being shot as it raids a backyard bird feeder does not meet the intent of the property damage law," Gralenski said. The case, Gralenski said, is the first in New Hampshire to address that issue, and likely will set a precedent regarding what constitutes wildlife damage.