CLIFTON TOWNSHIP, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU-TV) — The Pennsylvania Game Commission was tipped off to a bear found dead in southern Lackawanna County that was ruled to be shot Tuesday, August 11; well out of black bear season.
“Just shooting an animal like this, this day animals killed for no reason, or that we know of right now,” noted investigating game warden Aaron Marrow.
A 400-pound black bear found gunned down and abandoned in the vicinity of Bentler Road in Clifton Township. What may have been a prize for some come the late fall and winter?
“It is against the law to shoot and kill black bears out of season in the state of Pennsylvania,” added Morrow. “We do have some leads that are going to point us in a certain direction but at this point, we want to request, some assistance from the public.”
With just under 2,000 shares of the original post, we reached out on social media. Many? Outraged. An administrator of a local outdoors group calling it ‘a horrific act’ and ‘absolutely unsportsmanlike.’
“This bear was completely wasted, meaning that the meat was wasted and no one can enjoy the meat from this bear,” said Morrow. “This could have been a true trophy for a hunter in Pennsylvania come the fall. Unfortunately, this was robbed from from any hunter that could have taken this bear.”
To better understand the investigation, we asked if there’s any chance this was a freak accident or something more than an illegal killing.
“If anyone had you know shot killed as a self defense they are required to contact the Pennsylvania game commission, so we can come and collect the carcass in a timely manner,” added Morrow. “But that that did not occur.”
Anyone with information is urged to reach out. The tip line number is 1-888-PGC (724)-8001 or you can reach out to the operation game thief section of the game commission’s website.
