Pennsylvania Game Commission asking for information in connection to bear-poaching case in Fayette County – Outdoor News
Harrisburg — The Pennsylvania Game Commission is looking for information in connection with the illegal killing of a black bear discovered Dec. 2 in Fayette County.
The more than 200-pound female was found on State Game Land 51 off Saylor Road in Stewart Township after someone phoned in a tip to the Game Commission, said game warden and Southwest Region spokesman Seth Mesoras.
The bear died from a large caliber gunshot wound to the shoulder, field-dressed, and left to lie in the woods, where it had begun to deteriorate, Mesoras said.
It likely had been shot between Nov. 29 and Dec. 1, according to an Operation Game Thief post, which included photos of two individuals who may have been involved in the poaching, or had happened upon the carcass. They were dressed in camouflage and blaze orange and appeared to be carrying cellphones. One was carrying a rifle.
“Our officers got a tip about a bear in the game lands and the wardens posted a trail cam over the body to see if whoever killed it would come back,” said Mesoras.
“We’re not saying the individuals in the surveillance photo are responsible, but we want to talk to them. We’re looking for information, and any and all leads.”
Soon after the Operation Game Thief post appeared, the commission began receiving information about the identities of the individuals whose images were clearly captured on the trail cam, he said. “We got some calls about who these people are.”
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Fayette County is located within Wildlife Management Unit 2C, which has a four-day rifle bear season that ended Nov. 21, 2023. An extended season implemented several years ago in response to complaints about bears was eliminated in 2023.
A few commentators on the Operation Game Thief page suggested that the violator(s) may have failed to realize that there was no extended season last year.
The regulations change was “well-publicized,” Mesoras said, “but even if that were the case, whoever shot the bear didn’t follow proper procedures in retrieving it, which makes it even worse.’
The Pennsylvania Game Code requires that anyone who makes, or attempts to make, a mistake kill report it to the commission and deliver the animal’s carcass, minus entrails, to a warden in the county in which the kill occurred, all within 24 hours.
Full payment of restitution is due within 10 days after the killing.
Mistake-kill fines range from $100 to $500.
Shooting a bear out of season is an ungraded misdemeanor, and restitution for a 200-pound bear is $1,500. A bear weighing 350 more or pounds is valued at $5,000.
The Game Commission was urging anyone with information related to the killing to call the agency’s Southwest Region at 1-833-742-4868.
