Hunter fatally mauled in Idaho bear attack

  Grizz

The year 2011 has proven to be the worst year on record for bear attacks; especially fatal ones, and the year isn’t over yet.

If you recall, 2005 was one of the freaky years with an abnormally high number of fatal bear attacks in North America. There were 6 fatal bear attacks that year.

So far this year there have been 7 fatal maulings(3 black bears, 3 grizzy, 1 polar), including the most recent attack on a bear hunter in Idaho.

Steve Stevenson a 39-year old hunter from Nevada was black bear hunting in Idaho with his father and two other hunting partners.

A bear appeared before the men – an animal believed to be a black bear – and was then shot-at and wounded. The ensuing attack and subsequent fatal mauling was all part of a terrible mistaken identity. 

According to NWCN.com:

 “Steve Stevenson’s hunting party shot and wounded a grizzly claiming they thought it was a black bear. The wounded grizzly attacked and killed Stevenson.

Fish and Wildlife expert Greg Johnson says this mistake is common. Six grizzly bears in roughly 30 years have been have mistakenly killed.” 

After waiting 45 minutes to track the wounded animal, the men were startled to see that, not only that it was still alive, but the animal was a 350-pound grizzly bear and not a black bear as they first thought.

Steve Stevenson was not the first of the hunters to be mauled, the grizzly attacked his son first, and elder Stevenson jumped-in to distract the beast. Steve was fatally mauled in the process.

It is, I’m sure, a concern western hunters must deal with in an ongoing basis and considering there have been 6 similar cases of ‘mistaken bear identity’ in that region, it could be somewhat of a growing problem.

The attack and circumstances around this fatal mauling bring up a whole host of questions, most notably the mistaking of a grizzly for a black bear.

I would like to think I could tell the difference between a black bear and a brown bear in the wild, but having never been faced with the dilemma could never really say for sure. It was a terrible and unfortunate incident and my heart goes out to those hunters.

My condolences to the Stevenson family on their terrible loss.

Outdoorsguy

Footnote: Just to demonstrate how similar these animals may appear in the wild, here are photos of two bears. Can you tell what species they are?

Which one is the grizzly and which is the black bear? Perhaps they are both black bears, or both grizzlies?

You see where I’m going with this…

Mystery bear #1:

Mysterybear1

Mysterybear2

86 thoughts on “Hunter fatally mauled in Idaho bear attack”

  1. Point 1
    Well I couldn’t tell the difference, but if I was hunting in an area that had both, it would be incumbent upon me to be able to identify the differences.

    Point 2
    What happened to their guns, there was multiple people, that bear would have been swiss cheese before it got that close

    Point 3
    That’s why I hunt bears with a gun and not a bow

    Last Point 4
    Sometimes fate just says, your time is up, it’s sad but true, everyone stops breathing sometime and it was his time, and I’ll bet he was doing what he loved

  2. You got it ig, even when I am trapping them, the 45 is ready to go long before I get to the trap site. Don’t mess around with predators, we are low on the scale of who eats who.

  3. I can tell the difference because I see both species on a regular basis, however, it is not always easy to do so.
    I can also tell a fool when I see one: “the griz got even…” ; your words. The guy made a couple of bad msitakes and paid the ultimate price. It’s not about a bear getting “even.” That is a stupid anthropomorphic attribution to an animal that was simply reacting to its defense mechanisms.

    1. OK John, obviously from reading my post you should know that line was not meant, in any way, to be an ‘anthropomorphic attribution’..nor have I ever subscribed to anthropomorphism..if fact, if you’ve ever read any of my material you’d know I’ve actually spoken out strongly against that in the past.

      But just to avoid confusion, I am removing that line..in case other people read wayyyy too much into it, as you have.

      Like you, I do understand the grim reality of this situation in Idaho.

      Outdoorsguy

  4. Not another bear-vs-human conflict….this topic has been beaten with a hammer, frequent fliers of this blog know my position on the topic.

    1. See Trapper, this bear discussion has a bit of a different angle. It isn’t simply ‘bear vs man’…its more, looking at the increase in number of fatal attacks, as well as this issue of identifying black bears over grizzlies…

      Outdoorsguy

  5. i can not see how 6 mistaken animals in 30 years is a comon problem…. now maybe 6 bears a year yes..but 6 in thirty no and this is why i sight my rifle in and never take a bad shot if its not a good shot i dont shoot unless its a deer running , they dont eat you

  6. Yea, what John said about being anthropomoron or whatever. Bet that term isn’t used much around the hunt camp but I get the point.
    I too can’t see how that few of mis-identifications constitutes a problem but no matter what species you hunt, you need to prepare and use the appropriate caution. The other simple rule, if the shot isn’t good, don’t take it.

    1. OK folks, I just added a little bear id quiz to the end of my post. Let’s see how we do.

      Outdoorsguy

  7. don’t know which is which, the second one sure doesn’t look like any animal I’ve ever encountered, but again, I don’t hunt in an area where both bears are living so it doesn’t matter. I do hunt where deer, moose and elk live and I can tell you which one is which

    About the rule, if the shot isn’t good, don’t take it. That comes with an * unless it’s to protect yourself from a mad bear, then take any shot you can get, and take as many as you can get

  8. I’ve never seen a grizzly/brown in the wild, but every black I’ve seen in the fall has been a good dark black colour. My guess is top is fall griz, bottom is a molting spring griz.

  9. Iggy, I stand corrected….on that rule.
    I am guessing these are both black bears. I have only seen two wild bears in my life, I harvested the first one I saw and ended up with an ‘idiot ring’ as proof. The second was a month ago on my cottage road.

  10. Wow. that is sad. really horrible for the son especially. His Dad paid the ultimate price.

    As for identifying, I’d say the bottom one is a grizzly.

    I also wonder about more shots not being fired when they found it. I can understand just the 1 shooter initially b/c most folks have 1 shooter in a group like that, but this will be an experience for every hunter to have their weapon up just in case.

  11. taking a second long look at the pictures, that first one has a big head and lots of spread between the ears, so with very little context as to it’s actual size, I’d say a huge black bear or more likely a griz, and I’ve never seen an animal that looks like the second bear so I guess it’s also a griz

  12. Too bad the bear didn’t get all 3 of them, or have it’s own gun.

    You are in bear territory – it wasn’t in your living room. Go bears go!!!!!!

    Bear hunting should be banned!!!!!!!!

    1. Marnie, I invite you to expand on your offhanded remark…perhaps your beliefs have clouded your judgement; leading to this knee-jerk reaction?

      By the way, there were 4 hunters in this story not 3 – thankfully, in your version, you’ve left one person behind to finish the bear off.

      Outdoorsguy

  13. I’ll take a stab at it……Both are black bears. Not sure why the second one is molting like that something to do with having just come out of hybernation perhaps ?

  14. Marnie, proper noun, A person who believes it is ok for one animal to kill another, but not the other way around.

  15. @marnie yes those are the chances you take when out in the woods now for on the hunting side if the animals were not managed they would over run our country side and may have eaten you, oops i forgot you dont hunt them so they will leave you alone ..

    @ trapper how dare you use the word hybernation BEARS dont hybernate …. you should know better

  16. Marnie the moron strikes again
    Go to school little Marnie
    learn all about the circle of life
    yes they were in our living room
    our living room is the world
    we are the top of the food chain
    sometimes we lose
    like this time
    but most times we win

    BANG!

  17. I was born and raised in northern BC and as far as I am concerned, if you
    can’t tell the difference between a black and a Griz, you shouldn’t be hunting
    in the first place. 2’nd : if you can’t bring one down with one shot….same thing
    appllies. 3’rd: (as the Natives I grew up around will tell anyone).
    It never, EVER pays to piss off a bear, especially a Grizzly….and by this account
    it was a relatively small one.
    There is no excuse for stupidity, especially when it stems from ignorance.

  18. Animal lovers. Geeeezzzz

    What’s next.

    Hope the bear sues the pants off that person for interferring.

    =======

    CALGARY – When his dog was charged by a bear protecting her cub, Ralph Wilson retaliated, battling the bruin to defend his pet.

    The New Denver, B.C., man and his fishing buddy Jolene Popil were walking their dogs about a kilometre up Carpenter Creek from the small town located 100 km north of Nelson, B.C., on Sept. 16.

    Wilson’s border collie Kato and Popil’s Shar-Pei were running back and forth in front of the pair when a small black bear raced out of the brush and charged the dogs.

    “It had two dogs pinned underneath it,” said Wilson of the bear, which he later realized was a young mother after spotting her cub up a tree nearby.

    “I just ran in there and started hitting the bear and it didn’t work, so I grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and hit it in the mouth, as it had my dog’s head in its mouth.

    “It turned and snapped at me. It bit me good.”

    Popil stayed about 15 metres back with her other dog, said Wilson.

    Kato escaped, but the bear was now standing between Wilson and his beloved pooch.

    He threw a rock, but the bruin barely budged.

    As he reached for a second stone, the bear “decided she didn’t want another of those” thrown its way and trotted off into the woods, allowing Kato to rush back to its owner.

    It was only after the adrenaline began to subside that Wilson realized he was bleeding.

    “My wrist was squirting away,” he said of an six-to-seven centimetre gash over a severed a tendon.

    Wilson, who required 14 stitches on his wrist and also suffered a puncture wound on his knee, said battle scars are a small price to pay for the life of his best friend.

    “I just love my dog to death,” he said of the six-year-old pooch he’s owned since it was a pup. “There was no time to think; if I’d had time to think the dogs would have been dead.”

    Both dogs suffered puncture wounds and Kato lost a tooth in the fight, said Wilson, though he admits the situation could have been much worse.

    “I don’t hold anything against the bear. It was just protecting its young, just like any mother would do,” he said. “It was just bad timing; I’m not going to let it stop me from going fishing.”

    1. Great story LeGrand!

      It reminds of another bear story I heard..one with a slightly different ending.

      It happened in the Sudbury-area, if I recall, where a man and his dog were travelling in the bush and happened upon a black bear. As most dogs do, this one challenged the bruin and was subsequently grabbed around the neck and held in the bear’s jaw.

      Without thinking, the owner who had a fillet knife with him..swivled around behind the bear. When he saw his chance, he jumped on the bears back and jabbed at it with the knife over and over again until it released the dog.

      The man’s dog survived with injury but the bear did not. The owner said when asked how he could do such a brave thing; basically chalked it up to adrenaline and the love for his dog.

      Outdoorsguy

  19. crazy
    lose your life to save a dog, but I guess everyone has their own idea of bravery
    for my kids, yes, for an animal, nope

  20. Ben, have to say such foolish things only come from the mouths of those who have never hunted. Animals are living breathing things, and a lot can happen on a moments notice to make that bullet miss vital organs and put the animal down in a single shot. It happens, it is a fact of life when it comes to hunting. Heck even with a heart lung shot, they don’t always go down right away.

  21. So if they want to stop getting killed by these animals…how about they stop hunting them instead?

    That way your not in the woods where it is “their property and habitat” the place where they live, search for food and roam around.

    Humans on the other hand can find something better to do than going to kill animals….

  22. Lola, we humans own the world, we are the top of the food chain
    the “woods” are where we came from, and we eat meat, not the non killed meat of a grocery store, wild meat, that’s why god gave us the kind of teeth we have.
    You and your stupid friends coming on here and making jacka$$es of yourselves is not going to change history, or the future.
    They are in MY backyard, I will hunt them. Sometimes they get one of us, but most times we get them because we are smarter, and more cunning

  23. Guess the Forestry industry will have to stay out of the woods.

    Who needs wood anyway?

    Guess a wooden toothpic after a nice vegy meal will have to replaced by a plastic one.

    OUPS! Plastic materials, that’s opening a can of worms with those that don’t like mining and oil production. Which provide for most if not all of our daily living products.

    But back to hunting…

    I eat what I kill. Good thing that I’m not a criminal (in the views of some people).

  24. Guess my last input is still under review.

    Oh! Well.

    I like hunting for various reasons, mainly for the taste of the game. Think about it another way. The more I hunt willdlife, the less I need to purchase my food at the grocery stores, so that means more for others. I’m not a selfish person, I know that one day there won’t be much to go around for everyone.

    “In the year 2011, have ears to hear the first random chimes of the unsustainable before the bell toll quickens, multiply, gathering chimes in number down a decade of denial until it rings in constant, cacophonous alarm. The year 2011 marks the crying advent of the seven-billionth child. The time the mainstream world will begin to experience the first inklings of a supersystem collapse to come in the 2020s.”

    1. LG, I just stepped away from the computer..I need to be online to click on the ‘approve’ button..if you see a comment sitting there for awhile it
      simply means I’m away from the PC..nothing here is really ‘under review’.

      Outdoorsguy

  25. Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
    its a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for LOLA
    Well im not the worlds most masculine man
    but I know what i am and I am glad i’m a man (hunter)

    you guys can figure out the rest….

    ok now i got to get back on my meds

  26. Jeff, i wouldn’t bother with lola. her last statement points out how oblivious she is about the world of hunting. She has no clue whatsoever. No sense wasting breath on her. She probably won’t be back either.

  27. Hi Jeff,
    Apparently the four hunters had split up, so that there was only two guys together when the bear attacked. One guy killed the bear, but unfortunately it was too late for his father.

    Lola, I don’t like hunting either, but this is a tragedy for both bear and human.
    The grizzly bear is illegal to hunt in Idaho/Montana. The numbers have declined since 2007. If I was hunting bear, I’d do my research and make sure that I knew the difference between black and grizzly.
    My husband and I love to camp and hike in the wilderness, but if I was ever to be in bear country, I better be aware of their habits and behavior. In other words, respect them and be educated as much as possible.
    Fortunately, bear attacks don’t happen too often, but they are predators, and they aren’t selective to hunters.

    That unfortunate fool, Timothy Treadwell found that out the hard way. Teddy bears, they are not.

    Jeff, I think the first bear is a black. He doesn’t have a hump on his back like a grizz or the concave face. The second one is a molting grizzly. At least that’s my guess!

    Marnie, you don’t deserve a response. Except a reminder: a man was killed!!! (idiot)

    1. Rob, I’ve seen Grizzly Man about 3 times..I found it to be extremely well done!

      Watching Treadwell slowly lose his mind in Denali National Park was disturbing and entertaining at the same time. The eerie part was how he had this feeling of which bear to ‘watch out for’ just prior to his death, it was a real gnarly bear, yet still didn’t have enough sense to keep he and his girlfriend away from it.

      If you’ve never seen this documentary, you must watch it!||

      Outdoorsguy

    1. OK folks, I guess the point is well taken with regards to the bear identification quiz.

      So far not one person has identified both bears correctly!

      Outdoorsguy

  28. My second guess then is…Top one a Griz and the bottom a Black (why it’s molting I have no idea)

    1. Bingo Trapper!!

      The key id feature I learned was the pronounced hump over the front shoulders…if there’s a hump its a grizz and no hump then its a black. I think Carol mentioned the hump. As far as the second pic goes, I tried to find not only a black that was moulting, but one in a light brown colour phase..which also happened to wet to throw you off even more.

      I knew it was a black bear simply because I tracked down the photo, but I’m not sure I would have known otherwise.

      Outdoorsguy

  29. I think the big part here is that as hunters, we should err on the side of caution, and in the case that you can’t properly identify the target, the shot is not to be taken.

  30. Funny, Tripper, I mean Trapper. I know that you’ve missed me…. 🙂

    I guess the first bear(grizzly) has a bit of a hump on his back, but it isn’t too obvious. I would never have guessed that the second one was a black. He looks like an old bear, and thin.

    Treadwell got too complacent with the bears, and he stayed later than usual that year. When he first started filming earlier in the year, the salmon run was at its peak. Just before he was killed, a lot of the bears had moved on, and the food supply wasn’t as plentiful. He wasn’t familiar with one particular bear – the one that probably killed him.
    It is eerie to watch, as Jeff said. If you watch it, I think the last bear he filmed was the culprit, at least the documentary implies this, and you could tell that he was getting uncomfortable around him! Creepy…

    Jeff, how can you say that I’m one of you guys now! That’s REALLY stretching it! You know I wouldn’t be caught dead with a (yuck) g…g gun in my hand!

    1. Hey Carol, I suppose I meant that you are like a ‘kindred spirit’ now with this group..you understand us a lot better and we have come to understand your school of thought..I would never have expected a firearm in your possession; however, we did seem to achieve some common ground here.

      There are other readers who’ve come and gone who would never ‘stoop to our level of thinking’ and have, as a result, never returned.

      Guess there must be something about us ‘swamp people’ you like..hehe

      Outdoorsguy

  31. @ Carol

    QUOTE “You know I wouldn’t be caught dead with a (yuck) g…g gun in my hand!”

    I think we’re close to the root of the issue…Truth be known you’re “anti gun” not anti hunter.

    Guns don’t kill people Carol, people do…..and it’s usually people who are on probation or other form of court ordered recognizance.

    ps: Sorry to railroad the topic Jeff.

    as for the bears, the ears and face on the second bear are a give away that it’s a black. Can you check the ‘properties’ of the original photo and see if you can track it back to a story as to why it’s molting like that ?

  32. Hey Jeff,
    I’m not sure if you guys qualify as “kindred spirits”, and somehow I can’t imagine us around a campfire together, but I know that you guys seem to be a lot more sensitive than I first imagined, and, I admit, ok guys I guess.
    Wouldn’t it be awesome if I could persuade a few of you to share my section of common ground?
    Come on guys, throw your guns away. Forget you annual hunt. Admit it, you just want to get away from your wives!

    I don’t mind stooping to your level of thinking once in awhile, Jeff! You guys need to have support outside your group. It must be sad for you guys to be scrutinized all the time. I could be your therapist so to speak, your go between. I could talk to PETA, and smooth things over for you. Maybe we could all sing songs together around the campfire! (and have a few beers) lol
    🙂

    1. Carol, I think we could all be friends..sit around the fire as you say…just so long as you dont use that terrible 4-letter word around us. You know, the one that starts with a ‘P’.

      Please please please tell us you’re not a member of that God-forsake organization. I believe you are much more intelligent than that.

      Outdoorsguy

  33. She’s baaaaaaccccckkkkkkk

    Do us all a favour – and turn on each other and see who the last one standing is.

    Iggy – I hope you’re first in the sights!!!!!!!!

  34. looking, a wounded bear is very dangerus some like to lay down and hide 1 second you see it and the next second is at your feet shot if you were luckey i was lucky.this happened in 1968 something i will never forget.if a bearis to close you shoot over it if you dont want to shoot it and put the run on it or it will put the run on you now in alberta we got bear that are no longer scared of people or dogs and like to tell you who is boss

  35. Quote Carol: ” Forget you annual hunt. Admit it, you just want to get away from your wives! ”

    Once again you are wrong. I wil admit however that for me hunting season does get in the way of my true passion…Trapping. But rest assured my wife wouldn’t miss either one.

    Yes Carol, my wife hunts and traps with me (and yes she has a full set of teeth). Our 2 sons also hunt and trap and there’s no better quality time had. We also enjoy making pickles and pickling beets, canning potatoes, making home made yellow relish etc…….Which I must say is much more environmentally conservative than driving the MIata to the grocery store to get these things.

    1. Good for you Trap, I wish I could convince all my family to join me afield..but alas, I do have one daughter moving in that direction.

      Outdoorsguy

  36. Jeff,
    You are right. I’m not a member of PETA, who I think only ridicule themselves in their emotional demonstrations.
    I truly believe that non-hunters and hunters can have a mutual understanding and respect.
    I find that we probably have a lot in common, with our love of the” great outdoors”. However, I know that it will be very difficult for you guys to see where I’m coming from. I’ll try to explain.
    I watched a show on the weekend to try to see what you guys get out of the hunt. It was a show from Newfoundland and they were hunting moose. They shot the moose using a bow and arrow. This bothered me right away because the moose was suffering, and didn’t die quickly. They shot it on the right side, (heart’s on left)and when they tracked it down it took quite awhile. I’m not sure, but maybe an hr. or more.
    The part that bothered me was lack of compassion. They showed the poor bull struggling in his last attempts to try to avoid the hunters. You could hear him breathing heavily and then he collapsed finally, with the hunters watching. I’m sorry, but I just can’t see the pleasure out of killing an animal, especially while watching him suffer.
    The two men then celebrate, and take their picture with their dead” trophy”. I’m concerned about the lack of concern for the animal’s welfare, and apathy. I think that it’s the nature of the hunt that I don’t like.
    I know that Newfoundland has tons of moose, which ironically aren’t native, being introduced by humans interfering again with nature. I really like what I’ve seen of Newfy people, since we visited two yrs. ago, and fell in love with the province.

  37. Carol, It is true that the scenario you describe does in fact occur but I assure you it’s not the preferred result for most of us. Unfortunately there are individuals who are a) too stupid not to ensure a humane kill and pass on a less than perfect opportunity. b) do not hone their skills for shot placement and c) they televise the event..

    Please don’t paint us all with the same brush.

    As for the trophy photos, I’m not a fan of them. I do collect photos for education purposes but try to avoid the trophy photo op (I have participated in the past but it’s not my preference today)

  38. well Carol, your somewhat off the mark on the side of the body the heart is on, the heart on a moose is in the middle of the chest, and an arrow that goes in the right or left side of the chest is aimed at the heart/lung area and the arrow is intended to go right through and passing out the other side. When an animal is shot through the heart, it is not instant death, but it is imminent. That’s why the animal didn’t go down on the spot. The only shot that would put an animal down instantly is a brain or spine shot, both shots not recommended with either a bow nor a gun.
    It is sad when an animal dies, and I don’t personally celebrate, but I do take pictures, and I’m very proud of these pictures and I also have a lot of taxidermy done. But I’ll go back to what I’ve always said, “this is what I like to do, maybe it’s not for you, but I don’t tell your what you should and shouldn’t do, as long as you don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t do”. Put another way, I realize that hunting isn’t for everyone, I don’t push it in your face, I don’t go on anti- hunting web sites and brag about killing animals, just respect my right to do what I want as long as it’s legal.

  39. another great weekend at the hunt camp, the leaves are way ahead up there, brilliant reds oranges and yellows, shot the cannon again and worked hard on the jobs that needed to be done, one week and a day and we pack our trailers for the long haul to the moose hunt

  40. One more comment please Jeff.
    Thank you Trapper for trying to understand where I’m coming from. I’ll try not to paint you all with the same brush.
    Rob, please dont insult my intelligence: yes , I have seen plenty of death in animals first hand, and unfortunately, also with a very special person that was very close to me.
    I’ve worked many years at a vet hospital, where I’ve also witnessed plenty of animal abuse. I’ve owned many animals over the years, which have died in front of me. Death isn’t pretty.
    Of course nature can be cruel. Coyotes kill a deer with the only tools they are equipped with.
    Humans, with all of their intelligence, and weapons, are fortunate enough to make a clean humane kill. All I’m saying is, show some compassion.

  41. And what sort of compassion are you looking for? When I kill a deer or a pig or a chicken, I do so to put food on my table. I do not feel guilty about it in the slightest. I do my best to make sure of two things, the animal dies quickly, and that I do the least amount of damage possible. Do I take every shot possible? No, because I only take shots that will serve the two things above are covered. Do the animals sometimes run away, yes. It’s natural, and it doesn’t mean the animal is suffering unnecessarily. Shooting it again isn’t always needed, and it means that I lose more meat, which means the animal serves less of a purpose. That isn’t doing right by the animal at all.

    Regardless of that, any death I give it, is far far more humane than what is seen in the wild (being eaten, freezing to death, starving, parasites, etc.)

  42. @ Rob St Denis.

    I agree,

    One other thing you don’t do is record the event on video and display it for the court of public opinion to see…..

  43. Trap, the problem is even if the animal dropped dead in its tracks, it would be still considered cruel. There is no winning.

    Look at trapping, connibears kill very quickly, but are considered cruel because of how effective they are at killing.

  44. Jeff, I think our common ground is becoming less and less common.
    Ok Rob, I’ll bite. You think that conibears kill quickly? What about the fact that they don’t discriminate? There have been many animals that have suffered excruciating pain because they were not the intended target, even dogs and cats, which will chew off a limb. That’s not cruel?!

    You’re right about one thing Rob, there’s no winning. They don’t have a chance.

  45. Carol, modern methods preclude a great deal of non target catches. Not to mention modern methods force the animal to commit, resulting in a spinal or skull hit, not legs like in the staged animal rights videos (http://www.furcommission.com/news/newsC7.htm). Sure I may catch a fisher in my coon set (for some reason they just love my sardines), but the result is still the same.

    Leg hold traps are yet another over demonized trap. Hell Universities and the MNR use them for catch and release studies and relocations. Clearly if the traps were breaking legs and causing such pain and agony the animal chews off its leg these would be ineffectual for this purpose no? Modern traps are built with reliefs or padding to make sure the circulation isn’t cut and the restraint is not painful. Ask my wife about how they feel when you get caught (fingers) in one as she did this past spring when removing a set that had frozen stiff, no cuts, no bruise, no break.

    As for pet catches, there are no known cases of pets caught in traps that were on leashes. So in the case fluffy makes it into a trap (as 2 did this spring in smiths falls), it was fluffys owner who broke the law, not the trapper. It was the trapper who was using the property in a legal manner, not the dog owner. And it was the dog owner who was responsible for the death, not the trapper. (It certainly didn’t help that in both cases the owner was trespassing at the time as well)

    As a trapper, our goal is to collect excellent furs, if our methods are so poor that the animal chews its leg off, then there is something wrong and certainly conflicts with the purpose of being out there in the first place.

  46. I may be wrong about this but this case of a bear mauling is the only one related to hunting. All the other maulings involved people using the great outdoors for recreational purposes.

  47. Rob, I don’t doubt that there are some individual animal activists that sensationalize, but there are hundreds of responsible, intelligent, and sincere animal welfare organizations worldwide. They have more than enough evidence of cruelty, and are totally dedicated to their cause, whatever it may be.
    There are always some irresponsible people, as some hunters are, like Trapper said, ” too stupid to ensure a clean kill”.
    I think that hunting is evolving, with its regulations, restrictions, and illegal targets, etc.

    Look at the recent ban of bull fighting in Barcelona, Spain. After 600 years , and since Roman times elsewhere, bull fighting has existed. The last fight was recently completed. In the last three yrs. the attendance has diminished to 1/3 in Spain. What an evolution of thinking! This is fantastic news!

  48. Carol the problem is you can’t lump responsible hunters and trappers who go out of their way to ensure a humane kill, with those who don’t. Especially when those that are irresponsible are in such a minority as being insignificant in the total population of hunters.

    I would actually love to see this evidence that shows this cruelty being mainstream, and feel free to only cite sources that aren’t on that site I posted up there (you know, the ones that have been found guilty of staging videos, paying drunks to perform acts of cruelty etc).

  49. Carol, I’m willing to bet that you won’t find many hunters or trappers who endorse or enjoy such events as; Bull fighting, Cock fighting, or Dog fighting etc….

    The people who attend these events or host them are the people that you should be focusing on. Not those of us who put food on the table in a traditional way or those of us who manage populations of fur bearing animals.

  50. I hope that there are a lot more responsible hunters than not. I really hope that the stupid ones are the minority.
    You have to admit though that some hunters just don’t give a crap for animal welfare, and don’t flinch at cruelty.
    Before you jump on me, I said “some”.
    For example, when a buck is shot in the paunch, it won’t die immediately as you all know, and is often left for hrs., or even the next day.
    Often hunters do miss their target, and some hunters have said that they will survive if shot in the leg, but they dont mention anything about suffering.
    The act of canned hunting shouldnt be considered a sport. Big frigging deal, hunting within a confined area.
    Driving game out with multiple hunters towards an armed hunter. From a hunters point of view, I’d like to see the challenge in this.
    Then there’s the staged hunting shows. Yes, hunters can be staged too Rob. You guys know that tracking can take a lot longer than a dumb program, and isnt it interesting that they always hit their mark, way too smooth.
    I have seen first hand at the vet clinic a G.S.H. Pointer that was brought in by it’s owner, a hunter, and it had been blasted by gunshot pellets. The guy was blaming the dog for taking off, and believe me he didn’t seem too bright.

    There are losers on both sides. Some PETA people make me want to barf. But there are so many good people by the thousands who are sincere and knowledgeable in many, many organizations.
    I’m just saying that you people should acknowledge that your “sport” is far from perfect.
    I can’t see hunting ever being banned, and I know that you guys enjoy the whole package of the woods, and the companionship, and the meat you harvest. I just wish that some of the guys that give you a bad rep could be weeded out or monitored more closely.

    Believe me, this is not the only blog that I’ve been involved with, and I won’t pick on you guys anymore! There are a lot of other sites that I just have to connect with, to the dismay of my husband! Actually, I should start my own. I might allow even your comments, but of course I’d have to screen them very closely.
    So try not to shoot each other, and enjoy the fall days. 🙂

    1. OK Carol, I will agree, our common ground has pretty much shrunk away to nothing and my time of saying little is gone. Although it was entertaining at first, and you did seem to genuinely care about ‘where we’re coming from’..it seems apparent now that we are just another of your pet projects…just another of the evil hunting/fishing sites you visit in hopes of spreading some good joy and healing.

      I suspect you may have stolen your ‘divide and conquer’ strategy with us from the Julius Caesar playbook…are the evils of hunting and conservation more easily abolished when broken into small factions or groups, than if we remain united??

      By having us justify our actions and comment on ethical ‘man vs prey’ type scenarios..I have the feeling you’re just probing this group for weakness? Do we exhibit signs of cruelty?

      Gotta tell ya..it aint gonna work!

      Sure, there are a few bad eggs out there (as there are everywhere) but for the most part we are responsible, educated, caring and aware. I can tell you that the collective knowledge of avid folks who frequent this site is staggering! Not many sports or recreational activities boast participants as committed and as driven to excellence as we are.

      Your attempt to expose our weaknesses has fallen on deaf ears. And now to bring up such things as bull fighting, high-fence Ranch hunting and random acts of cruelty in your defence of anti-hunting..in hopes of having one of us ‘slip up’ and say something in support of your cause. That is a very sneaky approach..but Im sorry, its not going to work either.

      I have seen all sorts of tactics used by groups like PETA..to garner support for their various causes – propaganda, media pressure, and many other unscrupulous acts too sick to mention. I suppose ‘charm’ was your ace in the hole. You did seem very interested in all these men and our view of the sport we love, but now I realize it was all part of a ‘not so hidden agenda’.

      You want us to acknowledge that our sport is less than perfect? Perhaps you should acknowledge that the bulk of the Animal Rights groups are a bunch of misguided wingnuts? If they knew and understood half of the animal biology, physiology and management that we do, perhaps their cries would have some merit.

      As of now, nothing they (or you) have done would make me think otherwise…thanks for stopping by, but I think your work is done here.

      Outdoorsguy

  51. Jeff,
    You don’t have to put this in your blog if you don’t want to. This is my final response to you.
    Simply, most of my information has in fact come from hunter’s sites, especially regarding wounded deer, so I have done some research.
    So, we’ll agree to disagree.

  52. Sorry Jeff, one more thing…. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to state my point of view.
    Take care, all of you.

      1. Just like the guy who walked into the bar with jumper cables under his arm.

        The bartender looked at him and said “Ok, you can come in just don’t start anything!”

        Outdoorsguy

  53. We are our worst enemy sometimes and we give these wing nuts the ammunition they’re looking for.

    Carol, thanks for dropping in and you drive safe in that Miata…..

  54. LOL Jeff….

    At a wedding recently the emcee asked all the married men to stand next to the one person who stood by them through thick and thin,,,,The bartender was almost trampled to death.

    1. hehe..good one trap!

      Well, since we’re in that theme..hear the one about the duck who ordered a condom at the bar? He’s told the bartender to put it on his bill.

      Outdoorsguy

Comments are closed.