Thursday, September 06, 2007

Stories from Salem, Mo

Oh, the fun they have down there in Dent County....please note the sentence I highlighted...is it just me or is that not proper English????
Black bear killed near Jadwin by beekeeper

A young black bear was shot and killed the morning of Sept. 5 on the Max McDonald property near Jadwin, according to Dent County Conservation Agent Chris Ely. "We've had some bears shot in Reynolds and some surrounding counties, but from what I know this is the first that we've had in Dent County for a long time," Ely said. Beehives and the honey from them attracted the bear to McDonald's property on two separate occasions. McDonald, who sells his honey at farmers markets, said Sept. 6. He has about 30 hives. There were reports that the bear had been seen in the Akers Ferry area, McDonald and Ely said. Ely said the bear got into McDonald's beehives Sept. 4, then returned the next morning. McDonald called both local agents and the MDC office in Rolla Sept. 5 at 10:19 a.m. after he discovered the damage. "He had tore up about four different hives," McDonald said. The bear returned Sept. 5 before conservation agents were able to get to the scene. McDonald shot the bear with his rifle around 10:45 a.m. "I was putting some gas in my four-wheeler to go and check on some other hives when I saw the bear next to my garage," McDonald said. "I had some shavings in a bucket with a lid on it, and he had knocked the lid off." McDonald said he shot the bear from about 15 yards away to prevent the bear from going after more of his hives. McDonald estimated the damage to the hives at $800. Bears are a protected animal and people can be issued tickets for shooting them, Ely said. "In this case, it was a justifiable shooting because he was protecting his property," Ely said. "There were no citations issued or even thought about." Ely said the conservation department encourages landowners and others to notify them as soon as possible so they can take non-lethal steps to protect property and get bears out of an area. He said there are times when this isn't always possible. Conservation agents took the bear carcass and delivered it to MDC officials.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was the funniest thing, ever! I really like the part about using "non-lethal" methods to protect property--from BEARS. What like redirection? Hey there, bear we don't like that, could you move it along and maim people in Dunklin County instead? They're all retarded down there anyway. Holy shit, shoot the effing bear!! He done tore up uncle Skeeter!

Val said...

I've been wanting to see a black bear. And then this guy goes and kills the only one within 500 miles of Salem.