KALISPELL – A Wisconsin hunter who mistakenly shot a grizzly bear near Spotted Bear in the Hungry Horse area Saturday will have to pay $2,235 in fines and restitution.
Richard Kutcher of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty Monday to killing a grizzly in a closed season. Kutcher was staying at a hunting lodge, and hunting black bear in the area.
As soon as he discovered he had shot a grizzly, Kutcher immediately reported the incident to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Game warden Perry Brown responded.
“The hunter was cooperative and gave a detailed account of what happened,” according to FWP spokesman John Fraley.
Fraley said the agency recommends all bear hunters take the Black Bear Identification Program “multiple times” before heading out on a hunt. The program can be found at fwp.mt.gov/education/hunter/bearID/.
Kutcher was fined $235 and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution as mandated by state law.
(19) comments
Another slap on the wrist.
No word as to the bear's sex and, if female, if she was nursing. Spring hunts risk killing mothers with dependent cubs--which effectively kills more than one bear. Hunting bears ANY time of year is unnecessary--killing them in the spring is simply outrageous. Contact FWP and demand an end to spring bear hunts.
It is illegal to kill a sow with Cubs.
I bet it's not a sow. The warden would have mentioned that.
Walter12, yes you can and should. I have and they're tasty when prepared correctly.
Aerindel, do you have the same feelings around mouse and/or ant traps? What are you feelings on insect traps that indiscriminately kills all bugs that contact them? I think your point is referred to as an informal fallacy (proving too much). The more you extend the idea, the worse it gets.
Miss Perfect, your moniker almost makes sense. The guy made a mistake, he called it in and told entire story. I would recommend changing your moniker for mistakenly killing your own argument...within your comment lies the moniker you should rightfully assume.
C'mon Garage Logic, guys (yes guys.. very few women) shoot bears, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, etc, because THEY LIKE TO. And because some of them just plain hate carnivores (hard way to be). Yeah yeah, I've heard all the stories about how cat is the best meat ever and bear this and that and the pie crusts you can make with bear grease, blah blah. But lets just be honest about it.. guys like to shoot stuff. Maybe they get a nice pelt, a skull, maybe eat the back straps, but it's an ego trip. Put it on the brag board, upload to Farcebook. So yeah, some guys eat bear, but hardly enough to justify it as a reason to kill bears. Be honest about it. -DS-
Good job, Garage Logic! Also, many cultures eat dog, so I would expect someone would eat a wolf. The American Indians did not waste food & they certainly had wolf hides, so they more than likely ate the meat, too. Waste not, want not. Why is that so hard for pampered people to understand?
As a beekeeper, yes indeed I do feel the same way about indiscriminate pest control. It's hard to believe that there is anyone who favors indiscriminate killing. By your "logic" we should still be spraying ddt and carpet bombing cities to take out individuals.
Leave the bears and wolves alone. You do not eat a bear or a wolf so leave them alone.
Many people eat bear meat. Mountain lion is very similar to pork. Wolf meat though, no. You'd think it would taste like elk, deer and moose but alas they stink bad enough to choke a maggot and the meat is riddled with parasites. But "leave them alone" you say ... you obviously aren't concerned about wildlife management or predator/prey relationships.
Where do you get the idea that people don't eat bear? If you have ever tried it you would know that the sausage tastes so much like pork, I doubt you could tell the difference. I don't hunt bears because I usually have a full freezer of elk, but I've tried a few that friends have harvested, and its delicious.
Never happen, Walter.
I guess Dickie Summers gets the last word - there's no "reply" button on his vacuous comment.
Just had a smoked bear roast for dinner, it was quite good, no complaints from me.
I had bear meat once, it tasted terrible,like burnt skunk. never again.
maybe Dick ought to just stay home and take up fishing or canasta........we reserve mistaken kills for the local idiots.......and there are plenty of them.
And yet we allow trappers to kill anything that happens in to walk into their trap. At least this man was shooting an actual bear and not somebodies pet dog.
Yep, another internet yapper who knows nothing about trapping spreading lies.
Which lie would that be? I know has a hunter the hardest part is confirming the sex and age of the prey. Traps are nothing more than hunting with landmines. Shooting the wrong animal is nothing compared to what trappers do. Its cheating.
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