As many on this blog know, I am no fan of trophy hunting. I fail to see why it is impressive or thrilling to shoot a giraffe or elephant with a high-powered rifle. I just do not understand the thrill kill. I feel the same way about shooting grizzly bears, which I have traveled to Alaska to watch in the wild. However, there are many responsible hunters and, while I would not allow hunting grizzly bears, it is lawful in some states. What is not lawful is herding with snowmobiles so some fat cat on a high priced hunting thrill could shoot one. That is what Brian Simpson of Fairbanks, did for Wittrock Outfitters. He is now stripped of his master guide’s license and fined $2,600 in restitution for the killing of two grizzly bears.
I simply cannot imagine any professional hunter arranging such a glorified canned hunt of grizzly bears, let alone being the loser who shoots the animals as they flee snowmobiles.
The violation occurred on the Seward Peninsula North of Nome. Simpson, 57, operated the spring bear hunts from Shishmaref, a Chukchi Sea village of 560 just north of the Bering Strait.
I would have hoped that a lifetime ban on any hunting would have been part of the punishment for this despicable act.
This is a “legal” or “law” blog and the Constitution is a topic of interest to us all. The Second Amendment guarantees “the right to arm bears…” We need to pass out some rifles to these grizzly bears up there and let em shoot first and give a roar later.
If one knows nothing about an activity, and doesn’t understand it at all, it’s probably a good thing to refrain from passing moral judgement. Especially I’d add, if said activity is credited with conserving most large mammals on all continents. Teddy Roosevelt, Aldo Leopold, and a long list of others who are credited with protecting and preserving our priceless natural heritage here in America, might have had some insight into what they were up to.
A lot of us here have experience with and support hunting. This wasn’t hunting; it’s shooting fish in a barrel.
“Especially I’d add, if said activity is credited with conserving most large mammals on all continents.”
sources please somsai, and do you think there’s a difference between hunting a wild animal and hunting an animal in the wild? Especially if they have been raised in captivity. I know it’s a $$$ thing but is there any ethical boundary on $$$ things anymore or should we all be out hunting Dalmations and Beagles…both notorious in their ability to shirk domestic rules of behavior
…
This was not a hunt any responsible or honorable hunter would countenance. The guide deserved the punishment.
I just watched a vid on the canned Lion hunts…and cheetahs…and panthers…probably Grizzlies too soon enuff. Most of these animals are bred by cretins who neglect to say that they provide for these canned horror shows…often they fly a flag of conservation and humane management, they allow interaction like petting zoos. The cubs are hand fed, become dependant on and trusting of human interaction and are then thrown into a big pen where they are chased and shot. This isn’t sport, it is a not so silent shift of perversion and needs to be outlawed.
No way could I watch this, even if I had the bandwidth. Those stories make me cry.
So sad. I hate canned hunts.
This driving method would only be acceptable if the animal was a problem bear dangerous to humans, or if they were herding it to get tranquillized.
As an apex predator, the natural means of population control of grizzlies is either starvation, or other bears. Males occasionally get into serious fights with each other, and they can kill cubs. If the population gets too great for the resources, they starve. Then you have hungry, desperate bears, sometimes by human habitation. This is true for polar bears, too. No one gets to die of old age in the wild. During years when the grizzly population is too great, and nature is taking its cruel course with starvation, it might be in the public safety’s interest to cull. If they can generate revenue for the park services doing so, great. But canned hunts are not sportsmanlike. They are not illegal, but I disagree with them.
This activity is a “sport” only if the animals can shoot back. I doubt the $2600 fine is sufficient deterrent against future incidents like this.
Everyone who participated in this should have his photo, name, and city of residence posted. Hopefully some public shaming will have a deterrent effect on others. A slap-on-the-wrist fine is meaningless. Apply asset forfeiture laws and take his guns and vehicles.
Where do they get the notion that killing some animal is a “sport” and/or “sportsman lie”?
But. It would be a good sport to shoot each shooter right after he/she shoots the so called “trophy”. Cut the shooter’s head off and post it on a light post near his/her home.
As for the dork who helped run the animals toward the killer: he is a killer too and needs to die.
Die, die, Miz American Pie…
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry…
Good ol boys drinkin whiskey and rye… cause..
This should be the day that I die.
Plea deal https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/master-guide-pleads-guilty-to-herding-bears-toward-client/
I would hunt a grizzly if I had the means. I would not hunt one like this.
New Rule: You shoot it – you gotta eat it!
Quite unsportsmanlike