Father And Son Poachers Caught On Camera Illegally Killing Hibernating Bear And Her Cubs

Alaska has made public a video showing the illegal April 2018 killing of a black bear sow and her two cubs in their den by a father and son.

The video starts out with the father-son duo on skis spotting a mother bear hibernating in a tree hollow on Esther Island, in Prince William Sound. It’s apparent from the audio that the bear is aware of the impending danger and makes sounds that indicate her fear. The two pull out their guns and fire several shots into the hollow, killing the bear even as the shrieks of her baby cubs fill the air. The father, Andrew Renner, then shoots the two cubs at point-blank range. Next, the men pull the bear’s limp body out of the den. They pause for a victorious and bloody high-five, and a photo with the son holding up the bear’s paw, before proceeding to carve the bear into pieces. Then they roll up the bear skin, stuff it into a plastic bag, and leave with the bloody remains of what was, just hours before, a beautiful animal hibernating in her den with her cubs.

Unknown to the Renners, their depravity was captured by an on-site camera put up as part of a study by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service.

The video also shows that the men returned to the site a couple of days later to hide all evidence of their crime, stuffing the bear cubs’ bodies into a bag, disposing of a tracking collar placed on the mother bear as part of the study, and retrieving their spent bullet casings.

 

Update:

Two Alaska hunters will face jail time and other penalties after fatally shooting a denning black bear sow in front of her two “shrieking” cubs, and then shooting the newborns dead.

Wasilla resident Andrew Renner was sentenced to five months in jail with two months suspended, a fine of $20,000 with $11,000 suspended and the forfeiture of his 22′ Sea Sport ocean boat and trailer, 2012 GMC Sierra pickup truck, two rifles, two handguns, two iPhones, and two sets of backcountry skis that were used in the offenses, according to a press release from Alaska’s Department of Law. His hunting license was revoked for 10 years.

Owen Renner, Andrew’s son, was sentenced to suspended jail time, community service and will be required to take a hunters safety course. His hunting license was suspended for two years.

The men will also have to pay $1,800 in restitution, the amount set by statute for killing black bears.