Thomas Leroy Bishop

Trapping and caging a black bear for 8 days

Shasta Lake, CA

Aug. 23, 1999

Bishop, age 47 is accused of catching a 200 pound black bear in a stolen trap, then penning it up in its own waste for 8 days, feeding it only hot peppers and no water. The bear was being held until the opening day of the 1999 bear archery season.

It was torturous in that trap for the bear day after day in the heat stated Paul Wertz, the states Department of Fish and Game spokesman. The bear was in good enough shape to begin with and was able to run off into the woods when the trap was opened.

The trap was on private land near Interstate 4 north of Redding, surrounded by US forest Service land in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Bishop was charged with 1 count of felony cruelty to animals, 3 counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and 3 misdemeanors. The trap was stolen from a wildlife agency.

Bishop was in the Shasta County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 bail. A preliminary hearing was set for September 2nd in the Shasta County Superior Court.

In July 2000 Bishop entered guilty pleas to 12 counts including animal cruelty, possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawfully baiting and taking an animal. Bishop is now facing up to 10 years in prison.

Bishop is a felon, convicted in 1974 for an assault at a pizzeria on Lake boulevard in Redding. The jury acquitted Bishop of an attempted murder charge but found him guilty of assault

Reference:

The San Diego Union Tribune