Jocelyn Labonville

New Hampshire man fined in bear shooting

Shelburne, NH

June 14, 2006

Jocelyn Labonville had complained twice to conservation officers that a black bear was raiding his bird feeders and he was concerned for his grandchildren’s safety.  Fish and Game Lt. Doug Gralenski told Labonville to stop feeding the birds and the bear problem would go away.  On June 14^th, Labonville shot and killed the bear while it fed at his bird feeder.

Labonville was convicted on Tuesday, August 1^st in Gorham District Court for taking wildlife during a closed season.  He was fined $240 and will lose his hunting license for one year.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department states this could be a precedent setting case – the state has won a conviction against a man for shooting a black bear raiding a bird feeder in his backyard.

Lt. Doug Gralenski stated that ‘birdseed is not birdseed to a bear, it is bear seed’.  If you insist on feeding or purposely create a situation that attracts bears, you cannot just kill that bear.

Gralenski also stated that New Hampshire’s Fish and Game Department is researching legislation but has not formally proposed rules regarding the feeding of black bears. Laws regarding protection of property from animal damage give New Hampshire homeowners the right to dispatch bears causing substantial property damage. He further stated that a bear being shot as it raids a backyard bird feeder does not meet the intent of the property damage law.

Gralenski stated this case is the first in New Hampshire to address that issue and will likely set a precedent regarding what constitutes wildlife damage.

Reference:

Burlington Free Press