Govt arrests 76 y.o. man who shot bear that attacked him in his own yard!

[9thIDdoc]

"Disagree or not, most of the laws on this say that if you put food out and it attracts bears, you have to stop doing it. Why you put it out or whether it is your property or not makes no difference."

That's not the law here and even if it were it is entirely legal to defend yourself or others from any animal that poses a threat to life, or of injury, or of property damage. I had a pit bull come and drag my dog off the porch. He had him by the throat and was intent on finishing off when I got out the door. A couple of 7.62 rounds settled the matter and nobody so much as raised an eyebrow. You must live in an idiotic place.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Silly man. He went and called the cops, what did he expect would happen, they'd pin a medal on him???

Every farmer knows the rule --- for bears, feral dogs, foxes, every kind of predator.

Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up!!!

What a waste...

The farmers I knew would have skinned the fox and bear and eaten the bear.

Fox, no. Bear, it would depend on the time of year and what the bear had been eating. IMHO, bear that have been feeding on fish taste nasty. Bear that have been eating berries, roots, etc...nom, nom!

 

[gallantwarrior]

Not at all un-American to take care of yourself. It is simply smarter not to confront dangerous wildlife with food and a gun. It would have been better in this case to notify the proper authorities that there was a bear on your property than to go outside to confront the animal while carrying food and a gun.

A bit like a group of men standing outside your home being noisy. You don't have any right to shoot them until they pose a risk to you, your family, or your property. You don't go out with a gun to water your lawn. You call the authorities to ask them to vacate.

He showed poor judgement at the very least and possibly baited the bear into a confrontation to get rid of the perceived threat. If you live in bear country you should not use bird feeders because it attracts the bears.

Please stay in the city, we have enough citidiots out here.

Right. As I suspect BA1614 knows, never, NEVER call the police or Animal Control if you have a bear problem. They will ALWAYS be on the side of the bear, trust me. I keep sheep and have been on plural sheep forums, and the hair-raising stories of bears and sheep in Pennsylvania, Montana, etc. all go to show that the worst thing you can do is call the police. Bears love to kill sheep, as does every dog that ever lived, including little pet Fifi. Quite small dogs will go for the throat and just hang there while the sheep runs around until it bleeds out.

There ARE good reasons for guns in this country, more often than any city person has any idea of, and I will be unhappy if this current pyscho problem ends up banning all guns in America like in Britain.

Have you ever thought of getting at least one LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog). There are certain breeds that have been bred for generations to guard flocks and herds. I have a Great Pyrenees that lives with my goats. Never a bear problem and stray dogs will stay away, too. And it's super cool to watch her with her goats. She even lays down and lets the little ones use her for a jungle gym. I recommend looking into getting at least one.

 

[Circe]

You're taking for granted that he knew the bird seed was bear bait. That's a pretty big supposition.

I have kept a bird feeder reliably filled with the expensive kind of seed and nuts and all and also suet for 15 years -- I had NO IDEA bears were attracted to that.

Beehives, yes. It's true about bears and honey. Maryland honeyraisers go nuts with the bear problem, skunks, too. Chainlink fences work, sometimes. Bears are awfully big.

We get a bear every year following the streams down from Pennsylvania (bear heaven, apparently). Usually it tries to eat somebody's dog and they send a SWAT team out after it.


Really. I'm not kidding.

 

[gallantwarrior]

One of the truly hilarious aspects when immigrants from the Lower 48 migrate to Alaska is their reaction to the wildlife. We truly are the Last Frontier and even the largest city, Anchorage, is perched on the edge of an immense wilderness. People come up here for that element alone and then then get all upset when their attempts to Californicate the wilderness fail miserably. Not only do the bears eat Fido's food, they'll eat Fido, too. And moose love ornamental trees and vegetable gardens. And if you feed moose or bears, both of which are illegal, the animals are likely to get a bit upset and violent when the handouts do not come as expected. Oh, and your housecats and foo-foo dogs...eagle bait.

 

[Unkotare]

I watched an old man yesterday antagonize my pitbulls that were behing a chain link fench by honking at them and making threatening gestures at them for about ten minutes before I yelled down from my third floor balcony "Hey MORON quit screwing with my dogs!" That said old moron got out of his car and told me he did no such thing. He was about the same age as the bear baiter.

In that case, you might have had a chance against him, tough guy (still hiding behind your poor dogs, of course).

 

[Circe]

There wouldn't be a bear problem around here because we'd dig a hole with the hoe and bury every one of them. Throw a few coyotes in for good measure before we cover it up.

I thought you sounded like a man with a backhoe. [

That's the thing about farmers: they so often have backhoes.

Here's a story from about 25 years ago -- we had an arsonist in the county, a farm arsonist. He was going after big old barns stuffed full of hay, about August. Omigod, can you imagine? He'd accounted for some 4 or 5, too. People were real upset.

The sheriff called a meeting of farmers in the county seat. I went: I was one of the few women there, but I had a couple big old barns stuffed full of hay, too, and I was an unhappy camper about all this!

The sheriff stood up in front and asked the group, "What should a man do if he catches a guy in his barn that isn't supposed to be there?" And with one voice, like a deep church choir, the whole crowd growled in unison, "Shoot him."

Anybody who has stacked as much hay in August as I have understands this perfectly well.

The sheriff started dancing around like he had to go to the bathroom! He was just frantic. "No! No!! Wrong answer!!!" he said. And went on about veterinarians with the wrong address and I don't know what all.....I lost interest, I was mainly interested in that one voice of purpose I had just heard.

And you know how the story ends? We never saw the arsonist again. The police never caught him, and there were no more barn burnings. I have no idea what actually happened, but ------

A backhoe is a very useful machine.

 

[Sunni Man]

In the state of Massachusetts sling shots are illegal to own.

And you have to register a BB gun with the police dept.

True story.........

 

[Unkotare]

So, one shot from a shotgun and the bear dropped. What was he using - slugs?

Probably. Nothing wrong with that. I once shot a slug into a 300 pound illegal who mouthed off to me. He was dead for he hit the ground.

Yeah, everyone believes you, clown...

 

[Unkotare]

You could have probably made a good point in this post. Instead you chose to be a dick.

The board notes you have nothing to offer but personal attacks. Thanks for admitting i'm right.

For the 1000000000th time, you don't speak for "the board" you pathetic coward.

 

[nodoginnafight]

Democrats don't want white men protecting themselves. We're supposed to be like blacks, women, and hispanics and run to the govt whenever we have a problem.

Richard Ahlstrand, Massachusetts man, faces charges for killing bear

1 day ago
Richard Ahlstrand of Auburn, Mass., thought he saw a bear eyeing him when he was in his yard on Thursday, so when he went out to fill his backyard bird feeder on Friday, he carried a shotgun. Ahlstrand was right. The bear — estimated to stand 7 feet tall and weigh 400 pounds — chased him across the grass, and Ahlstrand shot it. Now the 76-year-old is facing charges of illegally baiting a bear, illegally killing a bear and illegal possession of a firearm. Ahlstrand believes his life was in danger and that he "wouldn't be here" if he hadn't fired his weapon, but environmental officers disagree. "What was I going to do," Ahlstrand asked. "Say, 'Mister Bear, would you excuse me please while I go make a phone call?

Okay, if he thought he saw a bear on Thursday, why didn't he make the notification then, and the authorities could have captured it then?
He didn't have to wait until Friday.

But that doesn't really matter. The bear chased him, he wouldn't have lived had it caught him, he saved his life by killing it.
I don't see why any crime was committed.

i agree.

 

[Contumacious]

He wasn't very smart. The bears LOVE bird food! Regardless of that fact he has every right to defend himself. The fact that he went outside, with a favorite food, thinking there was a bear outside and carrying a shotgun shows that he was ready for a confrontation with the animal. That never works out well. He should have stayed indoors and called for help if he didn't want to have to kill the bear.

Now, if the bear had tried to come in his home he could have killed the bear in "self defense" rather than "premeditated confrontation" which led to the bear's death.

He has a right o defend his life and his property.

The People's Republic of Taxachussets is wrong.

 

[Triton]

It's illegal to possess a shotgun in Massachusetts?

Yep, permit required to own long guns in the Communistwealth

 

[PratchettFan]

"Disagree or not, most of the laws on this say that if you put food out and it attracts bears, you have to stop doing it. Why you put it out or whether it is your property or not makes no difference."

That's not the law here and even if it were it is entirely legal to defend yourself or others from any animal that poses a threat to life, or of injury, or of property damage. I had a pit bull come and drag my dog off the porch. He had him by the throat and was intent on finishing off when I got out the door. A couple of 7.62 rounds settled the matter and nobody so much as raised an eyebrow. You must live in an idiotic place.

I think you are missing the point here. It was not that he was defending himself, it was that he was putting food out after he was aware the bear was coming in to eat it. Under most state law, that is illegal. I would be surprised if that were not the case in your state as well.

 

[AmericanFirst]

We're supposed to be like blacks, women, and hispanics and run to the govt whenever we have a problem.

You could have probably made a good point in this post. Instead you chose to be a dick.

But he is right.

 

[ShootSpeeders]

It's illegal to possess a shotgun in Massachusetts?

Yep, permit required to own long guns in the Communistwealth

First time i heard that. Does that mean ALL guns are banned in Mass?

 

[ShootSpeeders]

I think you are missing the point here. It was not that he was defending himself, it was that he was putting food out after he was aware the bear was coming in to eat it. Under most state law, that is illegal. I would be surprised if that were not the case in your state as well.

A man has a right to put food in his birdfeeder on his own property. That's not baiting. Damn bear shoulda minded its own business.

 

[Unkotare]

The old man had a permit for the gun, but he hadn't renewed it in a long time because when he first got the permit renewal was not required. The law has since changed.

 

[PratchettFan]

I think you are missing the point here. It was not that he was defending himself, it was that he was putting food out after he was aware the bear was coming in to eat it. Under most state law, that is illegal. I would be surprised if that were not the case in your state as well.

A man has a right to put food in his birdfeeder on his own property. That's not baiting. Damn bear shoulda minded its own business.

It would appear you are wrong. The bear was minding his own business. He was finding food. If you continue to put food out where a bear is eating it, it only makes the bear stay in the area. Whether it was his intention or not, he was baiting the bear.

 

[AmericanFirst]

It's illegal to possess a shotgun in Massachusetts?

Yep, permit required to own long guns in the Communistwealth

What famous senators come from Mass.? Hummmmm.........