We have so many "in town" deer around here in the winter that the cops shoot them with their .223s and the meat goes to the feed the hungry programs. It's widely publicized that you shouldn't feed them but people do anyway. The deer attract cougars and the same morons who feed the deer wonder where their poodle went when it disappears from the back yard.

I don't think feeding wildlife has ever had a good outcome.

It's always been one of my pet peeves. You should see me going off on someone I catch feeding wild animals.

The guy who fed him said he found the bear as a cub and basically raised him, though the bear was an "outside" bear, free to come and go as he pleased. He has pictures of himself cuddling with it and said the bear enjoyed sweet things.

Lots of controversy around that bear. People were complaining that the bear was his "pet" and the hunter knew that and shot it anyways. In my opinion, a bear is not a domestic animal. Its not a pet. Its a bear and its fair game. The man should have never been feeding it and the authorities actually cited him for it.

The bear was not skittish of people, which was proven by the photographs of the man hugging and cuddling it. The bear certainly seemed comfortable in the presence of humans.

I was afraid of that.

A fed bear is a dead bear. I had a CO game warden tell me that once. Anytime a bear begins to associate humans with an easy food source it doesn't turn out too well for the bear.

If we are going to assign blame (for a legally harvested game animal), it should rest firmly on the man who fed the bear. You can't assign restrictions to hunters on state hunting land on which bears classify as game animals and which are pets. Maybe the guy should have kept his bear on a leash!!! :D

On another note, this bear had a lip tattoo that indicated he was trapped as a nuisance bear in NEW JERSEY!!! So, this bear that the guy "raised from a cub" had no problems ranging 50+ miles, swimming across the Delaware River, crossing state lines, etc... He was a wide-ranging bear and could have been shot anywhere.

Does the Boone and Crockett club exclude large hand fed animals from listing in the record book ?

Inquiring minds want to know.

No, they don't. There are a lot of black bears in the B&C record book that are shot over bait. This bear was not. If it was shot legally, B&C would recognize it. The PA Game Commission investigated this case thoroughly and found no evidence of foul play.

I would make a distinction between a bear that was habituated to receiving food directly from humans and one that was shot over a bait pile in a remote area.

If B&C recognizes the former as a legitimate fair chase trophy their credibility in my eyes is zero.

Who do you think i've been blaming all this time?


However, if the hunter knew about this animal being a pet. He gets a Twinkie up his butt too.

Ask me if I care what you think?