Man Who Shot Grizzly Bear Defending His Family is Fined
BY Herschel Smith13 years, 2 months ago
Do you recall our having discussed the issue of Jeremy M. Hill having shot the grizzly bear on his property defending his family, only subsequently to be charged with a crime by genius federal prosecutor Wendy Olson? Well, there are developments in this case.
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday dropped a misdemeanor charge filed against a northern Idaho man accused of illegally shooting and killing a male grizzly bear at his home in May, U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson said.
Jeremy Hill, 33, pleaded not guilty last month to unlawfully taking a federally protected species. His case has generated public and political backlash against federal officials.
As part of a deal, Hill agreed his actions violated a regulation of the Endangered Species Act against removing nuisance bears and paid a $1,000 fine. The act classifies the grizzly bear as a threatened species in the lower 48 states, and the animals are protected by federal law.
Hill claimed he was protecting his children when three bears walked on to his property near Porthill, near the Canadian border, on May 8.
Olson said investigators were unable to determine the location of Hill’s children at the time the bears were first seen in Hill’s yard near the pig pen. But by the time Hill fired his final shot, he was aware that his wife and children were inside their home, Olson said.
“The United States Attorney’s Office well understands Mr. Hill is a concerned husband and father who wants to protect his family,” Olson said in a press release.
[ … ]
Olson said anyone who sees a grizzly near their home or campsite should immediately contact wildlife officials, who will take steps to remove the animal.
“These regulations are designed to ensure citizen safety and protect the grizzly bear,” Olson said.
So consider. This case warranted “investigators” to ascertain where the children were when the shots were taken. Mr. Hill ultimately had to agree to a crime in defending his family and be fined by the federal government.
In addition to the things I said earlier concerning the God-given right of Mr. Hill to defend his family, let me add (as I had to in the comments section to my original post) that this right was a proactive one. To have waited until later to either shoot the bear or contact wildlife officials would have been the height of irresponsibility. The bear wouldn’t be there later, and the worst possible situation would obtain, i.e., Mr. Hill would have helped the bear to learn the behavior of coming onto or in the proximity of his property unmolested. That learned behavior would have caused mortal danger to his family.
Ms. Olson is not only a juvenile, she is a liar. The purpose of the regulation is not for the safety of people. Guns provide safety to people. The purpose is the protection of bears. And she no more believes what she said concerning understanding the need Mr. Hill had to protect his family than she does that justice has been done. She is only dropping the case because of the attention this has gotten. Otherwise, she would have had her day in court defending bears. Ms. Olson also isn’t willing to live where Mr. Hill does, but she is willing to criticize Mr. Hill’s choices. Proud day for Ms. Olson. Proud day.
This is simply a disgusting, sophomoric display of the sad state of affairs of the regulatory bureaucracy. Instead of sending investigators to determine where Mr. Hill’s children were (it’s none of their business), they should be working on identifying and targeting members of MS-13. In other words, they should get a real job, along with Ms. Olson. Defend people instead of bears.
On September 15, 2011 at 8:19 am, Dave said:
Check out a picture of Wendy Olson. She *looks* just like the kind of person from which you’d expect this kind of crap. If she weren’t doing this, she’d be teaching Wymyn’s Studies at UC Berkeley or implementing Obamacare on the rest of us. How do people like this ever rise to prominence in government?
On September 21, 2011 at 10:00 am, Devil Dog said:
So the lesson is – don’t tell the government.
Next time, haul the carcass deep into the woods and keep your moth shut. Bears and other critters will take care of the rest.