Published: November 07, 2009 07:04 pm      

Bear poaching ring broken

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A lengthy bear poaching investigation ended in late October, when West Virginia Division of Natural Resources conservation officers and Wildlife Resources Section personnel apprehended eight hunters in Nicholas County for using bait to illegally lure black bear into sites where they could be shot from elevated and camouflaged stands.

“This group of hunters, all residents of Ohio, had been participating in this type of illegal activity for a period of several years,” said Capt. Michael Waugh, Elkins. “They had purchased their bait, which consisted of doughnuts and corn, from multiple out-of-state vendors. The bait was then hauled into the area by truck and distributed to the bait sites using all-terrain vehicles. This out-of-state purchase and interstate transport of the bait is believed to have been an effort on the part of the poachers to conceal the quantities of bait, the purposes for which it was being purchased, and to avert suspicion in the areas they were baiting.”

Seven baited shooting sites were located by Conservation Officers D. Duffield, T.L. White and Wildlife Manager Tom Pratt when they entered the woods near Summersville. Five of the hunters were apprehended at a cabin used as a base camp. As the individual hunters were located and removed from the elevated shooting platforms, Sgt. C.R. Johnson conducted interviews which led to additional information and the discovery of multiple baited black bear kills from previous years.

Two large adult black bears and additional bait were seized. The first bear was a male of 240 pounds. The second was a large 3- or 4-year-old female of about 130 pounds. Two additional black bears were killed at the bait sites earlier and had already been taken out of West Virginia.

Requests for assistance in recovering these black bears have been made to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the provisions of the Lacey Act.

Those who have entered pleas have each been fined $2,319. Jail time of 100 days has been suspended upon payment.